Keiichi's Faith
by pizzigri
Summary: Keiichi's naivety and pureness of heart causes him extreme harm, leading Belldandy to react in a way that will bring upon herself the harshest of punishments. Will their Love withstand the ultimate test? Chapter 9 up! NOTE: Ch. 3, 5 and 8 may be a bit graphic. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

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><p>Author's notes.<p>

This FF will deal with some drama and romance, and can be considered a continuation of the manga.

There's a small scene in the first chapter in which sex is implied, and it's really needed to support the plot, hence the T rating.

Some adult situations may be discussed in later chapters, but I promise it'll never fall within M rating.

I started writing this fanfiction since I've read Fujishima-san's Manga, and found it very enticing. I just LOVE the artwork. It's the first time I write something not related to the world of Urusei Yatsura…

My experience with the world and canon of Aa! Megami-sama! are limited to the manga and the movie (the one with Celestine), and I have never seen the OVA's and the Anime series.

However, I have read many good fanfictions on this site, and I have borrowed some ideas I liked, including liberally ransacking the Old Norse myths, please have mercy for that!

I am not a native English speaker, I am Italian, and as such, I find myself comfortable in writing in present tense (which I regularly mess up… oh, well).

I really hope you enjoy the story and do not forget to… REVIEW! PLEASE!

_**Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.**_

_**OC, functional to the story, are mine. No copyright infringement intended.**_

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

**...**

One of the barren planets in Vanaheimr, long abandoned homeworld of the Vanir, now a neutral ground for the decisive Celestial Summit to negotiate a treaty aimed to end the conflict among the Gods.

Thousands upon thousands of Celestial beings stand in absolute silence as The Almighty closes with Hild, Queen of Niflheim , the agreement which will also enact the Doublet System, pairing every Celestial Being to an unknown counterpart in the opposite field.

It will not avoid Ragnarok, but it will delay it, or so it is hoped.

Time not measurable by human standards later, Hild gives birth in Niflheim to her daughter, named Urd, conceived with Divine blood; her part Divine origin notwithstanding, Urd is still subject to a Doublet binding with a young Deity.

Raised as a Demon, Urd must however fulfill an unforeseen destiny: to become one of the Norns.

In time, the Goddess Verthandi eventually is given birth in Heaven, and when later Skuld is birthed as well, Hild cannot oppose the Ultimate Force and is compelled to part with her only daughter.

Again on the immense plains of Vanaheimr's fourth planet, She personally surrenders her only daughter in the very hands of the Almighty.

He embraces the confused and terrified Demon child and kisses her forehead, awaking her Divine blood and turning her into a Goddess; her Demonic blood is then denied sustenance and power, while Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, establishes with her a permanent link.

Feeling the demonic connection fade, something deep inside the black core of the most evil of all Celestial beings breaks, and a very secret pain burns fiercely in Hild's heart.

Her violet eyes lock for one instant with her daughter's, shivering in fear in the arms of the Almighty, and the betrayal that the Daimakaicho reads in her child's gaze, for abandoning her, rouses impossibly powerful, but unknown and foreign feelings.

Hild watches the Almighty disappear with her, now divine, daughter in a shower of pure, blinding light.

The most powerful Demon in existence walks slowly to the spot where her only daughter stood only instants before. And then, with an unearthly scream, unleashes her full power, bringing forth Armageddon and instantly erasing this world from existence, before returning to Niflheim, sealing herself within the deepest and darkest room of her infernal dwelling, crying tears no one is allowed to see.

As the Almighty returns to Heaven with Urd, the change within her nature is instantly duly noted, and the binding that linked Urd to a Deity in the Doublet System is broken. But her double heritage, unique among all the Celestial Beings, of Demon and Deity now that her dormant Divine blood is awake, creates a critical error: it is impossible to reassign a doublet with a Demonic being since her Demon blood is also still awake, though now unable to draw power. Thus, Sinthgunt, Goddess Second Class, Limited License in training, slightly older than Urd, once her Doublet, is now free of any binding, as is Urd.

...

**The Glitch**

Nidhogg Supercomputer central processing hall.

Hundreds of Demons work relentlessly, apparently playing impossibly complex musical instruments which are really access nodes and consoles to the core of the immense computing structure,

managing the complexity of Hell's activities, both within Niflheim and on the infinite realities and dimensions in which its influence are felt; Nidhogg is partially mirrored by Heaven's much more powerful Yggdrasil Supercomputer, in charge of similar tasks and duties.

Both Supercomputers are said to be physically connected in an inaccessible dimension on a different plane than the mere decadimensional reality in which both Hell and Heaven reside in, the deeply buried roots of Yggdrasil Tree being in fact the nest of Nidhogg's snakelike processing unit.

The Supercomputers also share a common data pool situated in the same dimensional plane, an infinite database accessed through what apparently seems to be a well, by the Ultimate Force to manifest itself in all planes of existence, execute its directives, fulfilling such tasks as demonic contracts and divine wishes; and, eventually, enforcing the Doublet System.

Vali, an old but powerful demon system administrator, once a celestial being that turned, eons ago, against the Almighty and lost in that ancient battle, resignedly types away at the ethereal multidimensional keyboard apparently made of shadows floating in front of him.

The demon looks deceptively young, his appearance is that of a very handsome man about thirty years old, with his fiercely red hair tied in a long braid resting on his back. He's dressed in a white and black robe, and his forehead and cheeks are marked with small red square sigils.

His job is deceptively simple, time consuming and mind bogglingly… boring.

Maintaining Niflheim's side of the doublet system's primary bindings is a tedious but absolutely necessary act, and only a First Class, Administrative Category, Unlimited License demon is allowed access. Of course, the system has a completely encrypted and locked out database, all data represented as series of runic ciphers and no one, short of the Daimakaicho or the Almighty himself can independently decipher and access it.

In the billions of billions of petabyte's worth of data, an almost insignificantly small inconsistency attracts Vali's attention.

A tiny, inconspicuous purple dot, at the end of a filename.

A file is still open!

_But that's impossible_, the demon thinks.

_The system would immediately raise a flag and signal the inconsistency, unless…_

Curiosity takes the best out of the demon. He accesses the still unencrypted file and as soon as his brain manages to believe what his eyes are reading, surprise gives way to glee, fueled by wicked hatred and malice.

A plan slowly form in his mind, a plan that will take years, maybe centuries to carry out, but nonetheless will allow the old demon a small measure of revenge.

_Revenge… is a plate that is served cold. Very, very cold…_

_..._

_..._

Tokio, one very cold winter night, many many years later.

Akeo Takeda tiredly rolls from over his wife Mikiru to her side, on top of their disheveled bed, still shivering and almost gasping for air. The young couple married only three months ago, and both strongly desire a baby.

Smiling to each other, Mikiru's softly speaks to her lover.

"Dearest, I'm sure this will be the time… I'm sure I will bear you a beautiful child."

"I… I love you, Miki-chan…"

Akeo's shyness had been a major obstacle for Mikiru to overcome, since he's always had somewhat of a worship problem with the college sweetheart that he finally managed to marry. Even now, in the intimacy of their bed, she has to be quite proactive, since the young man's almost _too_ gentle in their lovemaking. But that's not a problem… Mikiru knows how deep his love for her is. And love overcomes everything.

A couple hours later, a dampened rustle wakes Akeo up. Donning a yukata, and taking good care not to disturb his young wife, he walks towards the kitchen of their tiny three room apartment.

_Nothing. Uhm, I really must have imagined…_

Akeo cannot continue his thought, completely surprised by the mirror image standing before him. Then, he feels himself losing consciousness, falling on the couch and plummeting into deep slumber.

Mikiru wakes up, as 'Akeo' lustfully kisses her square on the mouth, a deep kiss that leaves the young girl quite surprised.

"W-what…?"

"Shhh, child. Just enjoy…"

The man throws away the sheets and blankets, exposing her naked body. Shivering in the unexpected draft of cool night air, she tries to cover herself with a small cry of surprise.

His hands are incredibly warm, as they glide along her body, exploring her folds, stirring forbidden desires.

The thought that Akeo has never been this bold –or this _skilled_- slips completely off her mind, leaving her dazed and aroused, quivering in lustful anticipation.

With unusual strength Akeo grabs her hips, pulling her up, and takes her in a way and passion she never experienced before… her pupils dilate in bliss as a squeal escape her lips…

...

...

The demon falls to his knees before Hild.

"Vali … It has come to my attention that one of my Incubus has impregnated a human woman with _your_ seed, tonight… in a small town just outside Tokio, without my consent. Care to explain yourself…?"

The Queen of Hell speaks almost casually, with a bored tone, sitting –almost lying- sideways across her throne, her left elbow propped on the huge armrests with her hand holding her head, the white mane of hair flowing across her body, her glaring violet eyes a stark contrast to the sweet smile she wears.

A drop of sweat rolls off the old Demon's brow, his voice not sounding as poised as he'd want.

"M-My Queen, it's an experiment. I-I selected a young Mortal couple that could be regarded as a reference standard for love, purity and integrity. The mortal woman was already impregnated, with her husband's seed, it happened mere hours before my experiment; what I did, is mix my seed to the Mortal's, so that instead of a single child, the human female will bear a couple of identical twins…"

Vali pauses, nervousness drying his throat.

Hild shifts on her throne, her gaze boring a hole through the demon's body.

"Continue."

"Ah! Yes my Queen, the experiment's purpose is to generate a closed loop system, in which one of the twins siphons all evil from the other so to artificially create a thoroughly evil human opposed to an, otherwise identical, thoroughly pure one. The evil siphoning link is absolutely undetectable to divine means, as it is totally built in the mortal plane, using ancient Faere magic code exclusive to the human world. Moreover, even if part of my blood runs in one of the twins, they remain completely and thoroughly human. My aim is to use these mortal children as decoys for the divine line, imagine what use could such-"

Hild interrupts, purring lustfully.

"Ahhh, my old friend… your experiment _amuses_ me, so I will not indulge in dropping you into the fire-spider pits… **yet**."

After a long sigh, Hild smiles, her eyes glow as space around her warps and darkens.

"On the other hand, though... have you a reasonable excuse for not begging for my prior authorization?"

The Ruler of Hell's almost whispered last sentence reaches every corner of the infinitely high and deep Throne hall, and cracks appear on the pale stone walls and on the bridge that connects the only exit to the Throne suspended over nothingness . The power barely contained by the being in front of the old demon is unimaginable, and the pressure exerted by the whispered words is unbearable.

Vali almost loses consciousness under the strain, before abjectedly falling with his forehead to the pavement, trembling in utter fear.

"My Queen! Forgive me! I! I intended to tell you as soon as I achieved success, so that maybe, just maybe, your punishment could be mitigated by the advantages the experiment yielded! I beg you to accept all I've attained!"

Hild looks smirking at the groveling demon in front of her.

"You silly little thing… you cannot give me what is rightfully _mine_ to begin with. Of course you'll be punished… however, you are right in that the extent of the punishment will be decided by the measure of your success. Of which, of course, you'll update me regularly…You may leave."

The old demon disappears immediately in a pillar of black fire.

...

In his chambers, unable to stand still and walking nervously in circles, Vali very privately swears.

_That was near, too much so for my liking. Telling as much truth as possible saved my ass this time, but it's going to be almost impossible to keep the Daimakaichoko's involvement concealed once the twins reach maturity… But, I must go on. Revenge comes before anything, including loyalty to the Daimakaicho's blood!_

_..._

Since Vali's confrontation with Hild, twenty years pass on Earth.

Many things happen in this lapse of time, especially in the second half; among them, a young mortal, Keiichi Morisato, wishes for a Goddess to remain at his side forever, and Verthandi, one of the Norns, complies. Urd and Skuld soon join their sister on Earth at the mortal's side, sharing many adventures, and learning many things about the Human world and people.

Under Vali's subconscious guidance, Shin and Hayato Takeda grow up, the first constantly committing cruelty and abuse over the other, until one day Vali decides the times are ripe: Hayato has become a perfect candidate for a Heavenly wish, and Shin the perfect tool to carry out his vengeance.

But Vali is very aware of the Norns presence on Earth, and their association with the young mortal.

In the past few years the Demon worriedly monitored every crisis that the Divine entities faced, the Lord of Terror, the Angel Eater… fearing every time Urd's nature fluctuated from divine to demonic, as that could mean that the system error in the Doublet System would fix itself, repairing the broken binding, and rendering totally futile all his efforts.

And then, Hagall's rebellion and complete, utter defeat, at the hands of that very mortal blessed with the love of the dreaded Norns, this time absurdly at the service of the Daimakaicho! He actually _carried_ within his puny, frail soul part of the essence of the Daimakaicho, without being tainted with her presence, an utterly impossible paradox, as if Hild-sama actually _respected_ the human, and outrageously restricted herself to preserve the purity of his soul!

But that's secondary. The Daimakaichoko Urd turned Demonic, of her own free will, for the first time accepting her birthright. The few eye witnesses, utterly awed at the memories, recounted of a Star mark on her forehead, sigil of Hild's blood and symbol of immense power. Of course, the Celestial Being lost her sanity, intoxicated by the sheer amount of power saturating her all of a sudden.

Vali watched in horror his terminal's screen, as the file started blinking, a window opened with the runes for "Binding in progress…" and a bar slowly filling underneath it.

Then, Urd regained her Deity status, having spent her energy controlling the blast of Skuld's Antiproton bomb… and the file remained open!

Vali exhaled the breath he was holding in great relief. Revenge is still possible! So concentrated in his quest for vengeance, the Demon never realized how near his end and that of most of the Netherworld had been, if Urd did not contain and totally suppress the detonation.

With the Norns back on Earth and Hild still concentrated in clearing up Hagall's mess, Vali decides to commit to his plan.

...

...

**The beginning of the End.**

A shrill chime echoes throughout Nidhogg Supercomputer central processing hall.

It's time for one of the rare breaks the System Operators get, and most of the Demons leave for some rest. Only a handful of workstations are manned, and it is the perfect moment for Vali to lay the trap.

So concentrated that the Demon doesn't even wipe the sweat off his forehead, Vali winces visibly at the hand that brushes softly on his shoulder, immediately followed by a purring voice.

"Vali, my old friend. Doing overtime? Your shift ended a Reaper's Cycle ago… how about we go for a drink?"

The demon looks up to his female friend, Astarti.

"Uhhh, not tonight. Sorry… I really have to finish this. You know, leave early your post once… bribe an unjustified absence twice… and then, before you know it, you find yourself frozen in time sealed in one of the tulips in the detention field."

"What are you doing so important you can't let go? I thought you ran the Doublet bindings, that stuff actually runs itself anyway-"

"Would you mind your own business? I have to catch up, I've been a bit… lazy, lately."

"Hey, hey, sor-ry. Don't get so worked up, anyway. See you around, then."

The green haired demon walks away, slightly miffed.

Vali tensely returns to his workstation, reopening the window of the 3270 mainframe terminal emulation with the archaic looking green Runic text (a proof that those things DO HAVE a Demonic origin), uplinked to Yggdrasil. Using the debug data found within Urd's Doublet open file, Vali manages to hack into the low security Goddess Relief Office Operator's schedule. Surely, his intrusion will be noticed by Heaven's SysOps, but hopefully by then it'll be too late.

Vali's target is the Goddess that should have shared the binding with a "Demonic" Urd.

She's a First Class operator at the Agency's field branch, the Goddess Technical Helpline: her name is Sinthgunt.

The Demon queries the roster of the active operators, and traces Sinthgunt's phone number.

Typing furiously at the terminal, Vali uses all of his section's computing power to reroute the first call to Sinthgunt, at the same time synchronizing the call from a young man of great virtue and terrible misfortune… namely, Hayato Takeda.

Some distance away, another Demon stands up from his seat, puzzled. He turns towards Vali, narrowing his eyes; he picks up a phone handset, dials a number and speaks softly.

Unfazed, Vali concentrates, mentally pulling a string and connecting to the small part of his own blood residing on Earth. The old Demon smiles at the reply, there's nothing that can be done now… he can't be stopped anymore.

The trap has sprung.

...

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><p>Well, I hope you like what's going on. Of course, I had to set a few things for the plot to work, so I apologize if there isn't too much action for Keiichi &amp; Friends in this chapter.<p>

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

_OK! Second chapter up. Enjoy… hope I got the personalities OK and not too OOC._

_**Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.**_

_**OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually © 1220 A.D. Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>On holy ground<strong>

Keiichi Morisato wakes up to a muffled explosion and a mild tremor, followed by a very musical scream.

Two girls run by his room, bare feet tapping the wooden floors, shortly afterwards, another small explosion is heard down the corridor.

Then, the very alluring scents of Miso, Tamagoyaki and other traditional Japanese breakfast foods delicately tickle his nose; and finally he becomes aware of the assorted and quiet sounds of cooking in the background.

_Belldandy is surely in the kitchen… and Skuld and Urd are fighting again, _Keiichi thinks yawning and stirring.

Five past six in the morning, ten minutes before the alarm would go off.

The sun is barely out, casting long shadows through the open Shoji window and bathing the room of light, etching on the opposite wall the shadow pattern of tree branches and leaves, gently wavering in the breeze.

The bedrooms in the living quarters of the Tarikihongan Temple, in which Keiichi and the three Norns live, all have the windows exposed slightly south east, getting the sunrise light in clear days to naturally wake up the occupants.

The young man, after a fast shower, and donning a T-shirt and shorts, walks towards the dining room, where Urd and Skuld are already discussing on something, wondering what in hell made both Deities –especially Urd- wake up way before him on a regular workday. _Maybe the sky is falling?_

Scratching the back of his head, and with a big smile towards Belldandy, Keiichi enters the dining room.

"Good morning, everyone" he cheerfully greets.

Belldandy replies from the kitchen, "Oh, Keiichi-san, good morning to you! Have you rested well?"

"Hey, Keiichi" Urd smiles, while Skuld retorts in a scandalized tone "coming to breakfast in your boxers, have some modesty!"

"Ah, b-but Skuld, these are _shorts_, not boxers!", Keiichi defends himself, blushing.

"Whatever! They _look_ like boxers, and that's enough for me!"

"Squirt, please don't torment poor Keiichi" Urd cut in. "We don't want to embarrass him too much this early in the morning… right?"

"Urd, are you trying to change the subject?"

"Uh?"

"Don't you 'Uh!' me! What is the potion you attempted to put in my tea?"

"Ahh, ehm, well…"

A ball with lots of wires sticking out appears in Skuld's hand. Urd manages to whack it outside; a second later, another explosion shakes the temple, and both sister give chase around the dining room, until the first plates appear on the Zataku table, courtesy of Belldandy.

"Keiichi san, do you want me to prepare something special for dinner, this evening?"

"Oh, yes please, Belldandy!"

"Good, so I'll go out shopping downtown in the afternoon for groceries. I'll meet you at 6 PM sharp at Chihiro's shop, will you be so kind to drive us home with your motorcycle?"

"Belldandy, of course! You shouldn't even need to ask!"

Keiichi feels himself thaw out when Belldandy smiles at him.

A minute later, Keiichi observes the Divine social dynamics unfolding before his very eyes. Skuld and Urd finally settling down at the table but still bickering among themselves, Belldandy angelically serving the food and springing back to the kitchen, humming a – literally! – heavenly tune…

Three authentic Goddesses live with him, interact with him, and love him, each in her own way; Urd and Skuld somewhat as a brother, and Bell… well, Bell loves him as…

_As if I was the very reason she was born in the first place, millions of years ago. As if… if… Nah. It just boggles the mind… _The memory of the most incredible kiss sweeps his mind, and flowers whirling all around him, and her eyes, and…

A whack to the head with a roll of newspaper abruptly interrupts the memory!

"OWWW!"

"I know that look in your eyes! You're thinking of doing something perverted with big sis!"

"Skuld dear, please leave Keiichi-san alone."

Belldandy, hearing the exchange, chastises Skuld with a disapproving tone.

"But, Belldandy! He…"

"Skuld…"

Pouting, the youngest Norn just humphs and turns away from Keiichi.

_That was totally unexpected, _Keiichi thinks._ Skuld hasn't objected to her sister's relationship with me for months! What's going on?_

"Listen Skuld, I didn't mean to…"

Urd interrupts the young man. "Don't apologize, Keiichi. It's just that the squirt had a nightmarish vision this night, and now is quite strung. I _tried_ to help her with a potion, but you've witnessed the thanks I get…"

"UUURD! You didn't try to help! That potion smelled like the truth Serum you tried giving me a few months back!"

"Ah? Is that so? What happened, Skuld?" Keiichi timidly interjects.

"It is none of your business!" Skuld swiftly answers.

"Well, technically it _is_ his Business, Squirt… he was in your dream, after all."

Skuld turns to her older sister, with an expression of betrayal on her face.

"Why did you tell him, Urd?"

"Well, he deserves to know, since he's the one that…"

Skuld tackles her older sister, slamming a hand over her mouth. Then, she jumps in a cup of tea, and disappears, taking Urd with her, leaving Keiichi staring and gaping. It takes at least a minute before he can articulate a question.

"Uh, Bell?"

"Yes, Keiichi-san?"

"Ah, yeah, what was all that about?"

"I don't have the slightest idea, actually… however, it does mildly worry me", Belldandy answers, slowly kneeling beside Keiichi, her expression distant.

...

Outside, by the small pond in the garden.

"Why did you tell Keiichi about my vision!"

Urd crossed her arms below her breast. "Because, it involved him. And you still haven't told me what was it about, only that it was _bad _for Keiichi."

"I-I can't tell you! My visions are never accurate, and besides, you know the rules!"

"Skuld, I know you're not _supposed_ to tell us your visions. But it involves our Keiichi! You can't keep this to yourself! Your visions are actual echoes from the future. Don't you care for Keiichi!"

Skuld squints her eyes shut to stop tears.

"Of course I do. I-I-I really l… lo… care for him, but… look, it is only a glimpse of a _possible_ future, and I am sure that it will not happen. I can guarantee you that! It's within a secondary time branch in any case. I can… it's just that it scared me. Yeah, that's all, it just scared me. The vision was balanced with another perfectly normal timeline, that had a much higher probability anyway."

"You're not convincing me, Squirt. You know perfectly well that lying to yourself to fool me won't work."

Skuld abruptly clams up, and jumps in the pond, disappearing before Urd has a chance to grab her.

"Shucks!"

Urd tries to track her down, to no avail. It's like she never existed on this plane.

_Probably some sort of shielding system… she's good at those._

_What can I do? Maybe I can access a secondary Yggdrasil Admin node, and possibly hack the timestream prediction database, but to do that I need to return back to Heaven for a couple of hours…_

Urd walks back to the Temple's main building, picks up the phone in the hallway and dials a number.

"Hello Ex, Urd here. I need to talk with Peorth a sec. Uh, yeah. Hmm-mm.

Hi Peorth… I… well, I need a favor. Can you grant me a couple hours suspension to visit Heaven? I need to check a few things… no, nothing wrong. Look, I'll really owe you one… Really? OK, thanks. I'll talk to The Gate, then. Ciao."

Replacing the headset, Urd pauses, bracing herself as a shiver jolts her body, as if she were in the middle of a cold draft.

_A Foreboding of Dread…_

At that moment, the Goddess of the Past feels a presence behind her.

"Urd…"

"Yes, Belldandy?"

"…is something going to happen to Keiichi…? He just left for Chihiro's shop."

"Well… you know Skuld. Even if she _did_ know perfectly the future, she wouldn't be able to tell us. In a way, she warned us that something _may_ happen. I guess all we can do is be prepared."

Urd hugs her younger sister, and whispers to her ear.

"Just try to keep him near yourself, you know… just in case. I'll try to find out what's going on, I'll be back this evening."

Urd kisses her younger sister on her cheek and simply 'plunges' in the floor, disappearing.

* * *

><p>…<p>

Late afternoon. Keiichi walks around a bright red Italian sports bike, talking with the last customer of the day just outside of Chihiro's Whirlwind shop.

"…well, Tsukuma-san, my suggestion is to replace the stock double one-in-one exhaust system with a two-in-one Nickel alloy piping exhaust with a single, good Termignoni racing muffler placed high on the right side. That will allow you a much better leaning angle, too. Of course we need to look both at the stock carburetors and airbox. We could either use a Dynojet kit or complete replacement, with a couple 39mm Keihin's, in addition to using a pair of racing ECU's; as for the airbox, we could cut out the top and use a K&N filter."

"How much would I gain?"

"All things considered, opting for the Keihin's and including the clutch upgrade, the tuning should improve performance by 15-18 percent of the overall original horse power; it will however change torque curves too, so you'll actually experience much better performance than you would expect from just the HP increase, especially at low RPM's."

"That sounds great! How much will it take to do everything?"

"I'd say about a week for the actual tuning, but we do not have everything in stock; a '94 900 SS isn't so common in Japan after all, so it really depends on delivery time for the more exotic parts, like the muffler or the Brembo 19mm Radial brake master cylinder. Maybe three weeks. As for a detailed quote for the job, please ask Fujimi-san."

"Thanks Morisato-san."

Keiichi, wiping his hands in a not so clean cotton rag, watches his customer approaching the Whirlwind entrance, while a quite pleased and smiling Chihiro waits for him leaning on the doorframe.

_Uhh! Tsukuma-san is not going to smile so much after Chihiro tells him how much it'll cost…_, Keiichi comments to himself noting Chihiro's 'cat-waiting-for-the-mouse' attitude.

Slowly shaking his head, Keiichi turns back to the Italian motorcycle and pushes it over to the parking space.

The sun disappeared behind a single cloud in an otherwise clear sky; the air cooled off noticeably, prompting Keiichi to pull up the sleeved upper portion of his mechanic's jumpsuit from his waist and don it over his white T-shirt.

A groan from his stomach reminds the young man that this evening Belldandy promised a special dinner. He looks up to the sky, a sigh escaping his lips curled up into a smile, wondering for the millionth time what makes him so special to earn the love of a Goddess.

Fishing the keys to the padlock to secure the parking area's gate in his jumpsuit's pocket, Keiichi checks his watch: almost six PM. In a few minutes, Bell-chan should meet him with the groceries to return back home to the Tarikihongan temple.

* * *

><p>...<p>

**Sealing Fate**

In one of Heaven's Great Halls of Light, immense spaces with mile high ceilings and walls of crystal, bathed in the purest white radiance, a First Class Goddess glides gently over the arrays of white desks and workstations –part of the Goddess Relief Office main headquarters-, finally softly landing in an exquisitely ornate armchair.

Sinthgunt, Goddess First Class, Second Category, Limited License starts her shift.

Only recently she has earned her First Class License; and for the last thirty or so years, literally a heartbeat in her lifetime, has been assigned the task to grant wishes to worthy Mortals on Earth.

Even among Divine Beings, Sinthgunt is deemed to be kind and ingenuous, and to have a selfless, immensely compassionate and caring nature; her smaller frame and juvenile - almost childlike – forms and curves, and propensity to be very trusting towards everyone, make all her peers, friends and family to be very protective. So much so, that many are quite worried to see her frequently leave on a mission heading for the Mortal Realm.

The old fashioned telephone on the white desk rings with a bright silvery sound, startling Sinthgunt, amiably chatting with a younger Goddess sitting beside her.

"Oh! I did not expect a call for another eight cycles, actually…", Sinthgunt comments to her Supervisor, an elder Goddess named Hlín.

"Dear, it happens sometimes… so hurry up, do answer."

the Goddess answers, her melodious voice intoning, as many times before: "Goddess Technical Helpline, my name is Sinthgunt, how may I help you?"

There's only uncertainty and hesitation in the reply, a rather flat "Uh… I… well…"

"Please hold the line, I'll be right there shortly!", the Goddess chirps happily in the handset.

As soon as the goddess hangs up, Hlín's outstretched hands glow.

"Sinthgunt, please stand by for prompt Case File download."

The data flows through the Divine Link to Yggdrasil, directly to Sinthgunt's mind; normally, the Case File dossier would have been downloaded at least three cycles – about six minutes - before the call, so that the Goddess answering would be able to have a very good idea of the Mortal's possible wishes and be prepared.

In this case, however, there's no time to thoroughly study the data.

Sinthgunt hesitates.

"Girl, is anything wrong?", Hlín asks, noting her pause.

"No, My Lady… just a foreboding", Sinthgunt answers, smiling.

"I can have Fulla replace you, she has much more experience, and…"

"Please, My Lady, it is my duty. But, thank you for your concern." Then, still smiling, she proceeds to jump in a transparent glass panel, disappearing.

Moments later, an alarm screams, and the background radiance suddenly alternates between pure white and light blue.

A heavenly voice calmly intones: "_Secure lines breached. Yggdrasil core database is under attack. Vital data overwritten. Proceed to seal all portals._"

"WHAT! Emergency retrieve!", Hlín screams to the shift operators.

"Mylady, Sinthgunt is already over the threshold! The Gate reports full passage thru her! We can't get Sinthgunt back!"

"Mylady, all Bilrost firewalls active! We're locked in!"

"M-my terminal's gone blank!"

"Mine too!"

"All our terminals are rebooting, Mylady!"

"Mylady…"

Hlín, grimacing, is about to bark a series of orders, when a rectangle of light appears hovering in front of the Goddess.

"_Peorth here. Hlín, I need you NOW to report to me! We just avoided a full system wide Kernel Panic, and we traced the origin to your node!_"

The screen fades, and the Goddess clenches her jaw, her knuckles white. Hlín feels confused, and for the first time in ceturies if not millennia, is scared. "I…" she whispers, almost to herself. Finding her voice again, she turns to a tall, gold haired Goddess.

"Gersemi. I'm sorry for this, but… You're in command. Go by the book, and…" Hlín shakes and bows her head. "…that's all. Sorry."

Then, Hlín disappears in a twirl of Cherry blossom petals.

…

Inside one of the Main Control Tower's maintenance cubicles, Urd was going to shut down the node Console terminal in frustration, having found out that all her credentials, passwords and backdoors had been wiped out from the system, when the alarm surprised her. She nervously looks up from the semitransparent screen hovering before herself, through the gap in the ajar door as a Valkyrie emergency response team gathers just outside the cubicle in full battle uniform.

Urd ducks underneath the desk, cringing.

"Oh shit, they can't be here for me!"

_If they find me here, I'll get my license suspended… again! Plus, Peorth'll make me pay…_

Her attention is captured by Peorth's scowling face appearing in her terminal's screen.

"Urd! We could use your help, we have a primary security breach, the system's under a partial Denial Of Service attack, I NEED YOU HERE IMMEDIATELY!"

"Is this fast enough?", Urd teases as she practically falls in Peorth's lap, emerging through the hovering monitor in front of the very surprised First Class goddess.

"Come on, Urd! This is serious! Bilrost is firewalled, so all hardlines to Earth are sealed; The Gate currently refuses passage. The attack began from The Relief office nodes, and spread through the secondary data lines; it's Demonic in origin. I suspect a full Nidhogg attack."

Peorth turns her head to a very pale and anguished Hlín, sitting with a blank stare in front of one of the workstations.

"The worst is that a deployed Relief Operator, Goddess First Class, Commercial Limited Sinthgunt, is presently MIA in-country. We lost all contact with her as soon as the firewalls locked Bilrost. We're stalled, and right now, you're our most experienced SysAdmin."

Urd 's face steels, as she opens her stretched hand.

"I want Prime Administrator privileges. Now."

Peorth puffs, closing her eyes and throwing both arms up.

"Granted."

A glowing key appears in Urd's palm, the goddess clenching it for a second. When she opens her hand again, the key disappeared. The white haired Goddess smirks.

"You know I'll have to take over. And that means you'll be in trouble, for both allowing me in Heaven, and surrendering Command."

Peorth shrugs. "It can't be helped, can it?"

Another voice, devoid of any emotion, calmly address both Goddesses.

"Goddess First Class, Special License Unlimited Lind reporting. I have a VCSAR team ready. I need a hardline open within the next cycle. Please, get on it."

Three Valkyries and nine Cherubs wait in a wing behind Lind.

Urd changes her dress in a flashing vortex to a deep red, purple and gold Divine Combat Uniform, as she takes off towards the Highest Chair.

"Yggdrasil! Requesting SysAdmin access to root, manual hierarchical override, Urd, Norn of the Past. I hereby relieve of command Goddess First Class Peorth."

"_Acknowledged. Override complete."_

"Prepare to execute code. Begin!"

Sitting on the highest chair, Urd starts singing. The strain on her face is obvious; suddenly, World of Elegance appears behind the Goddess, startling everyone except Peorth and Lind. No one else ever saw Urd's Angel before. Their chorus fills the ether.

In the background, the Supercomputer's heavenly voice detachedly answers.

"_Resetting systems… done. Rebooting all systems… done. Purging corrupt databases. Recovering data from parity… done. Recovering delay lines… realigning realities… resetting timeline… Now."_

Urd stops singing, almost exhausted. The purest chime echoes around them, propagating throughout all planes of existence.

"Yggdrasil, System report", Urd tiredly requests, sliding back on the chair, World of Elegance fading again within the Goddess' body.

"_Timeline 100% secure. Mainframe 89% online. All systems will be 100% online in 1.98884848 cycles. The same estimate to Bilrost redeployment"_

Lind grits her teeth. A couple of cycles translates to a subjective Earth time of about four minutes. And that accounting for timeline synchronization, to avoid any timestream delay!

Only The Almighty knows what will happen in those four minutes.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry, real short, I know. But, I've got a busy life right now, plus, my other Urusei Yatsura fanfiction needs attention as well… next chapter is going to be a bit dark.<em>

_Please review! Thank you._


	3. Chapter 3

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

_OK! Third chapter up. This chapter will get quite graphic, though I still believe we are within a "T" rating, be warned!_

_Enjoy… hope I got the personalities OK and not too OOC._

_**Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.**_

_**OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>...<p>

**Four minutes **

It's already five past six in the evening, the sun casting long shadows over the buildings, and Belldandy should have already met Keiichi.

Leaning against the sidecar of his '49 BMW, a Leibman Spezial Rennsport RS bike, with his arms crossed over his chest, he's lost in thought.

_It's only five minutes… I can't be worried for just five minutes._

Nonetheless, he can't avoid thinking back to Skuld and Urd's morning antics, especially regarding his involvement in the younger Goddess' vision; shifting uncomfortably his weight on his left leg, he sighs and checks the time on the Breitling watch Belldandy gave him as a birthday present.

_Strange_, Keiichi thinks_, she's always so incredibly accurate…_

The young man unconsciously traces the contour of the wristwatch with his fingers, trying to avoid checking the time yet again, when he hears a soft voice behind him.

"I apologize, Keiichi, I did not mean to make you standing here waiting for me for so long…"

He turns to find Belldandy beaming at him, hovering a couple inches above the ground, wearing a simple azure sundress that seems to float around her body as if free from gravity, her arms loaded with bags of groceries.

Blinded by her magnificent smile, Keiichi loses himself in the deep blue of her eyes, basking in the warmth she radiates.

Belldandy breaks eye contact, as her feet touch the ground.

"Well, then, I'll put the bags in the sidecar, and…"

"Oh! I apologize, here, let me help you!" Keiichi stammers, waking from his daze and taking the shopping bags, "I… I was… to see you, ah, you're so incredibly _beautiful_, and… I… I'm sorry…"

"Oh my… thank you, you're so sweet", Belldandy purrs into his ear, placing a light kiss on his cheek, making him blush violently and unable to reply.

"Don't worry, Keiichi, it was my fault. Shall we go?"

Less than a minute later, Keiichi and Belldandy are riding leisurely towards home, the engine of the BMW humming pleasantly; the sun almost reached the horizon, bathing the landscape and the few clouds in the sky in a warm orange light, thus casting a magical and peaceful atmosphere to the hillside road and its surroundings.

The day has been magnificent; sunny, dry with just a little wind to keep the air cool and the sky clear.

In the sidecar, Belldandy finally manages to relax. She's secretly been protecting Keiichi for the whole day, sending invisible small copies of herself to secure a perimeter around the Whirlwind shop, while her 'main self' went shopping.

The Goddess reflects over the events of the past twenty-four hours, her younger sister Skuld's vision and her refusal to disclose it, only admitting that the events she foresaw also involved Keiichi, her own ensuing foreboding and concern for the young mortal, and Urd's final decision to "sneak" in Heaven to directly access Yggdrasil.

_Oh, big sister, risking so much for my Keiichi…defying Father's punishment binding you to Earth…_

Urd had promised to come back from Heaven with some information, if not even manage to directly fix things; Belldandy closes her eyes, addressing a fond and grateful prayer to her older sister.

She then turns to glance at Keiichi, a smile forming on her lips.

A sudden flash whites out her vision for an instant, and a sharp pain stabs Belldandy's neck, echoing in her mind as her connection to Yggdrasil collapses. The Goddess winces visibly, utter fear and alarm overwhelming her!

_Something is WRONG!_

In a millionth of a second, she switches to full combat mode; her face becomes an expressionless mask as her Valkyrie training kicks in, all her senses at their peak, steeling her body and suppressing her emotions while her mind analyzes the situation.

Belldandy tries to establish an emergency communication link to Skuld, failing.

She almost decides to use the rear viewing mirror to instantly teleport to the Temple, but realizes that this will leave Keiichi alone, and totally unprotected. _He'll have to come with me, then__, _she hastily thinks.

_Keiichi, can you hear me?_ The question is rhetorical, she projected her thoughts directly into Keiichi's mind, it is impossible that he can't hear her, as the motorcycle's violent swerve attests; regaining control of the BMW, the very surprised young man uneasily thinks back, wincing in pain, _Uh… yes, what's wrong?_, never has Belldandy used so suddenly and in such an invasive way her telepathy.

_We need to be home immediately, Keiichi. We have to abandon this vehicle, and you must come with me._

Keiichi stops his BMW in a byway along the road. Unlatching his helmet, he worriedly turns to Belldandy, now in her white and blue full combat uniform.

"Belldandy, what's going… ooOHH-"

A second later, the road is totally empty, except for a parked motorcycle.

In the temple's bathroom, Keiichi falls unceremoniously in a heap from the mirror above the wash basin, taking cups, soap, toothpaste, brushes and other supplies with him on the wooden floorboards.

As his helmet rolls wildly on the floor, Belldandy is already flying in the corridor towards Skuld's room, only to crash into the small Goddess running around the corner.

"OOOMPH!"

The little Goddess falls on her rump and looks up to her older sister's concerned face.

"Holy Father, Bell-chan! The connection with Yggdrasil went down… Hey! You're in Combat Mode! What's going on!"

"Little sister, _you_ should be telling me that. What did you see in your vision?"

Surprised by her older sister's direct question, Skuld stammers.

"I… but…"

"Skuld, please, please tell me! Urd chan said it involved Keiichi! And whatever it is, it's happening NOW!"

"Uh… but… my vision never was… I…"

"SKULD!" Belldandy's face is inches from Skuld's and the urgency and distress in her voice startles the younger Goddess, making her literally jump.

"Ah! Sorry! I-in my vision, we can't avoid Keiichi's di-aa-aaahh…"

Skuld grabs her throat with her hand, clears her voice and tries again to describe her vision.

"Keiichi d-d-d-aaahh… I… what the hell is happening to me!"

The older Goddess covers her mouth in disbelief.

_By the eternal Light, Father! You sealed her knowledge! WHY?_

"Belldandy! Hey! Is everything okay?"

Keiichi stumbles in the corridor, bruised and dizzy from the sudden teleport.

The older Goddess embraces the young man in the blink of an eye, fiercely hugging her love.

"Oh, Keiichi! I'm afraid that something terrible will happen to us… to you!"

"Really…? Can we do something about it?"

"I… don't know…"

"Belldandy, I'm sure that everything will turn out for the better. We've always managed to turn the odds against us, even against impossibly powerful threats; I have complete trust in you, and in both Skuld and Urd."

"Keiichi…"

"I mean it, Belldandy."

Belldandy pauses; her features stiffen, and she holds her breath. A Demonic entity, about Mara's class and power level, manifested itself on Earth, not too far away. The Demon did not even _try _to hide its presence, or his power, which is highly unusual. Skuld's paling face proves she felt it, too.

Everyone just stand still, almost afraid to move, waiting for something to happen. Keiichi, sweating bullets, whispers: "Uh... Girls, you're scaring me, what's the matter...?"

"Oh, Keiichi! A Demon has been summoned on the mortal plane!" Belldandy whispers, drawing the young man into her arms and again holding him tight.

A wave of pure pain, anguish and despair washes over both Deities; Belldandy gasps and almost loses control of her strength, crushing Keiichi in her embrace, while Skuld faints and crumples to the ground.

"No! Oh, Father!"

The Goddess releases a pained Keiichi, and turns her head towards the shrine's gate.

Shivering, she braces herself, as more waves of agony hammer her Divine senses. Skuld regains consciousness, only to curl in a ball under the oppressive assault, tears falling freely over her cheeks.

Massaging his aching arms and ribs, Keiichi grimaces, feeling powerless and unable to help against the invisible attack.

"What is it? What's going on! I can't feel it, what's attacking you!"

"A Divine being is injured, badly. We're feeling the backlash of her pain."

"But… how…"

"She's asking for help! It's like a scream, here in our mind! Big sis! It hurts", Skuld cries, crawling in a corner and pitifully balling up, hugging her knees.

"I know, little one. As a Valkyrie, it is my duty to act _now_, to stop this. Keiichi, come with me!"

She grabs the young man and in an instant they're both out of the building; Belldandy spreads her massive, incredibly white wings, and holding Keiichi, takes to the darkening sky.

...

**Four minutes earlier…**

Sinthgunt emerges from the windows' transparent panes of glass and graciously touches the floor in the darkened room. Her divine senses immediately recognize the recipient of the wish, Hayato Takeda, standing in the room, and just outside the closed door, his twin brother Shin, an exact opposite to the perfect example of virtue that Hayato represents. The Goddess frowns lightly, they were supposed to be alone; also, her link with Yggdrasil is cospicuously missing. It happens, sometimes, passing through the Gate, and connection should normally be reestablished within seconds. The Goddess appears as a young woman, about 18 years old by human standards, five feet seven inches tall, lithe and gracious, dressed in a white, blue and lavender standard Divine duty uniform.

"Do not be alarmed, I am Sinthgunt, Goddess first Class, second category limited license, and I am here to…"

"Please! Go away, escape while you can!" Hayato screams, suddenly breaking free of his semi catatonic state.

The goddess hesitates, something is very, _very_ wrong.

Then she feels a powerful Demonic presence materializing; it has been summoned by Shin, using his blood in a sacrificial pentagram to call and allow Vali to manifest himself on Earth.

Shin bursts inside the room, slamming onto his brother, and blocking him into a stranglehold, a wicked smile on his face.

As Sinthgunt recoils, moving towards the glass panels, a hidden and impossibly complex pentagram shines into view, runic characters glowing on every surface of the sizeable room, while Shin drives a dagger between his brother's second and third rib, puncturing his lung. The blood of a pure innocent spills in the circle, imprisoning the panicked deity.

Vali _steps_ from thin air in the eerily shimmering circle, completely ignoring the dying man sprawled on the floor writhing in a puddle of blood, a gleeful smirk deforming his otherwise very handsome features.

He carries an ancient and crude looking Seax in his right hand, the blackened and dirty steel entirely covered in runes.

"Greetings, Goddess", he coarsely spits out, mockingly bowing, "I am here to end your life."

The confused Deity looks around herself, and turns in a futile attempt to jump back into the transparent glass window, but the Pentagram sealed all her powers; an invisible power repels her back: she's cornered and at the Demon's mercy.

Grabbing Sinthgunt's beautiful mahogany hair, Vali yanks the paralyzed and utterly terrorized deity's head, exposing her neck and throat.

Vali pauses while holding the blade a hair's width away from her skin, his smile growing wider.

"No, on second thought I will not behead you. I want you to die slowly, looking at me, full of despair, pain and fear. I want to see a pure deity like you lose control of herself… I want you to suffer! This blade is said to have been forged in Svartálfaheimr from a speck of Tyrfing's cursed metal before the three evil deeds were accomplished. It will now slay a Divine being!"

The Demon brutally pushes the Goddess against the heavy Western style table, then he seizes her right wrist, and pulls her arm up, turning her body towards himself, forcing his knee between her legs and painfully blocking the much smaller frame of the deity against the table edge with his body.

She weakly tries to break free, but a fierce backhand beats her fighting spirit away. He leans over her, pressing her torso on the table, back against the tabletop, his left elbow and forearm forced on her neck; the goddess sees the blade approaching, and starts hyperventilating, with fast, shallow breaths.

Unable to scream, to react, she can only stare into Vali's cold yet gentle eyes.

Straining her body and exposing her right side, the Demon carefully rests the tip of the blade just under her right breast and between her ribs, and slowly starts thrusting.

The blade leisurely sinks in Sinthgunt's chest, as Vali pushes little by little, almost sensually, the weapon in her flesh, his gaze never wavering from the shuddering Goddess's rapidly glazing eyes.

Vali plunges the weapon to the hilt, pauses then viciously turns the blade in the Divine flesh, and jerks out the blade, shoving the Deity away.

Sinthgunt slams against the wall and collapses to the floor, curling into a ball; instead of a dark fluid, what could be best described as liquid light copiously flows from her chest wound, bathing the room in brilliance.

Vali cleans the blade of the luminous liquid, sheathing it again in a hidden fold of his white leather robe, standing in front of the agonizing Goddess, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Little Goddess, your wound would not be fatal, in normal circumstances. But this cursed blade poisoned your divine body; you will, quite slowly and exquisitely painfully, lose cohesion, until you will return to your elemental state and dissipate... into nothingness."

He finally moves a reversed chair in front of himself and sits down, elbows on the backrest and chin resting in his hands, waiting for the Goddess to die, his whole body veiled by a dark aura that seems to swallow light.

Sinthgunt feels her control over her material form fading. She looks up to Vali, tears streaking her cheeks. The Goddess manages to painfully whisper: "Why… why have you done this, do you not understand the consequences…?"

"There will be none. You have no doublet, therefore no Demon will die. I may be punished, but I have my revenge, and I will enjoy it until the very end."

"F… fool! I… if I die… on this plane… I will not maintain integrity… I…" the Goddess manages to whisper before her voice fails her.

Her body burning with unbelievable pain, Sinthgunt shivers uncontrollably, coiling into a fetal position, the brightly glowing liquid pooling beneath her. She's sliding into unconsciousness, unable to call forth her Angel, all her powers blocked by the Demonic Pentagram.

Vali licks his lips and stands up. His time is almost over, and he must return to Nifelheim, to avoid…

In almost complete silence, a wide portion of the room, most walls and the whole roof simply disappear, torn away by a power many orders of magnitude stronger than his own; a power he immediately recognizes, striking terror in his heart.

The strongest of the Valkyries, Lind of the One Wing!

The Pentagram breaks down, and all the seals and shields simply cease to exist; Vali's Thrall, Shin, falls to his knees screaming, his left hand covering his face, while still holding the dagger in his right hand. A spear of ice pins him to the ground, forever silencing him.

A thin veil of ice covers everything, and a chilling wind whirls around the startled Demon.

Frightened, Vali soars thousands of feet, above the blanket of clouds, trying to evade the Valkyries, only to find himself surrounded by nine completely white Cherubs armed with golden stave-like weapons, and Lind poised to strike with a battleaxe in front of him.

Above and beneath the Demon another four Valkyries cut every possible escape route.

His hand nervously glides over the Seax's grip, under his robe.

Lind speaks, ice in her voice and embers in her eyes.

"Yield or be destroyed, Demon."

Before he can reply, all the world around them falls silent, and even the wind dies. Then, a flash of what could be described as black light cover the sky, with an impossibly strong Thunderclap.

Hild suddenly appears above them, warping space itself and creating a shockwave that echoes for miles around the city of Nekomi, akin to a nuclear detonation. Lind, sensing the danger, manages to weave a shielding Mandala just in time, deflecting the raging energy of the Daimakaicho's manifestation.

...

Belldandy had, in the meantime, covered the scant half mile distance from Torikihongan Temple, landing safely in front of the devastated building that once was the Takeda's residence and released a trembling and bewildered Keiichi to the ground.

"Come with me, Keiichi, she needs our help!"

"But…"

"Don't worry, Lind is taking care of the Demon."

Before Belldandy can even approach the wounded Goddess, a lightning strikes next to Keiichi and Urd appears, in her purple combat uniform.

"No time for that! Mother is here, we need to help Lind, now! As for Sinthgunt, there's a rescue team incoming, including our best Divine Healers, and Yggdrasil's back online! Come on!"

Belldandy turns to Keiichi, a concerned expression on her face.

The young man smiles.

"I'll be allright. Don't worry, I'll go and check her."

"Keiichi... I... I love you"

"I love you too... Please be careful."

"I will. You'll be safe here, and I will be back in minutes... but... "

"Bell! Come on!"

Reluctantly, Belldandy takes off, her wings driving her high in the sky, followed by Urd, blue lightning and sparks dancing over her skin.

...

Lind engages Vali, but before she can seal the Demon with her Battleax, Hild places herself between the Valkyrie and her target.

A dreaded voice, sweet and warm, almost like an oily whisper carried by the wind, echoes in Lind's ears, perfectly intelligible despite the howling wind: "Now, now, little Valkyrie… I'd suggest you cool down a bit, hmmm?"

"Move. That Demon is guilty of the highest crime, murder of a Divine Being" she replies in a toneless voice.

"You don't say? I have not felt any Demon tied by the Doublet System dying on me, lately, how can you substantiate what you claim?"

"I have a Class 1, Commercial License Goddess down, and that's more than enough to warrant coercive action, as per the Treaty's Code. You will not risk Ragnarok for him! Now, move, I won't repeat myself."

Vali shrieks "I claim Rightful Vengeance!", from behind Hild.

"What?" Lind exclaims in outrage.

"Oh, my… that Edict overrule hasn't been claimed since the Great War, Eons ago", Hild comments, turning to face Vali, curious and even slightly amused as to what exactly the Demon aims at.

"Great Hild, exactly! I claim Rightful Vengeance on the grounds of Murder of a Next of Kin!"

Lind immediately brings her wrist to her chin, whispering: "Peorth, you got that?"

In the Valkyrie's ear, the voice of the Goddess once again in charge of Yggdrasil's Mainframe Systems interface quietly replies, "Already working on it, we're sifting data, I'll be back in one."

"Explain yourself", Hild intones, crossing her arms.

The nine Cherubs all turn as one to Lind, which nods. Their staves are then angled in a ready position.

"I… I had a smaller sister, called Narfi, at the time of The Great War. It happened just before the treaty summit on Vanaheimr; immediately after the final ceasefire was declared in all of the Celestial Realms, we were returning home after the last battle, tired and wounded, following the orders that your Generals gave us, My Queen. On our way back through no man's land somewhere on Jotunheimr, a group of Valkyries attacked us, and cold bloodedly killed Narfi! As a truce was in effect, it is MURDER! I am entitled, therefore, to Rightful Vengeance."

"I… feel for your loss, Vali…" Hild casually replies, actually focusing her attention to her fingernails, "…but, since the Treaty and the deployment of the Doublet System, Rightful Vengeance is actually obsolete." Hild glares at the Demon. "Especially considering that suppressing a God means a Demon dies too, and vice versa… making such a clause totally useless."

Vali smiles gleefully.

"Great Hild, in this case, I have targeted a Goddess that, because of a glitch in the system, is actually outside the Doublet protection! I can claim the Edict overrule under Title II!"

Hild raises an eyebrow. Then, as if it was the most natural thing, she brightens up, noticing Urd and Belldandy approaching.

"Honey! You came to see mommy!"

"You wish", Urd mumbles to herself.

Peorth's voice breaks frantically in Lind's ear.

The Valkyrie has a hint of a smile on her face… and it's not a pretty sight.

"Demon, I know you are a liar! I have evidence that what you claim is untrue!"

Hild slowly turns to face Lind.

"Your side of things…?"

"The little Demon attacked us first! She slashed at one of the Valkyries also returning after the battle, with the full truce in effect, with a Class III cursed artifact based weapon! The Valkyrie only defended herself but died shortly after, since a Class III weapon leaves no possibility to heal, it injects a lethal virus program that destroys Divine Assembly base code!"

"So you admit that a Valkyrie murdered a Demon during the Great Truce?"

"I admit to a Valkyrie defending herself against an uncalled for Demonic attack during the Great Truce leading to both attacker and victim demise", Lind evenly replies.

The Daimakaicho giggles evilly.

"Well, then as I see it, Vali's claim is valid. Plus, your Goddess is still alive, so as long as we satisfy the treaty terms – anything goes, the only limit being no killing – I believe we have no more business to discuss. We are on our way, ta-ta!"

"Wait" Urd talks for the first time, "I want to see the weapon used to wound Sinthgunt."

Vali cold sweats bullets.

"I don't see why not, Honey. Vali, show my Daughter."

"I… uh."

"I'm waiting."

Lind abruptly understands.

"Break it out!"

Vali slowly draws the Seax from his robes, a scowl on his face. Lind's and Urd's eyes go wide, and Belldandy brings her hand to her mouth, whispering "Oh my! Sinthgunt…"

The weapon simply disappears from the Demon's grasp, materializing into Hild's hand.

"I'll take this, with your full consent of course, Vali dear. Well, Honey, you saw the blade, and we really, _really_ have to go now, so have a nice day."

Lind screams "Wait! This changes everything..."

A black ball surrounds Hild and Vali and an instant later collapses on itself, air rushing to fill the void left by the implosion.

"You'll pay for this, Demon! I'll make you pay for all your crimes!" Lind cries, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

_Mother… one more to the infinite list of reasons why I'll never acknowledge love for you, _Urd very privately thinks to herself.

"Urd..."

"Yes, Bell. That is the weapon that has been used to murder that Valkyrie. Sinthgunt cannot avoid her fate. Unless Mother turns that Demon to us..."

Lind finishes the sentence for Urd, "...we may, very realistically, face Ragnarok."

Skuld floats next to the group of Goddesses, she managed to recover enough to join her sisters, and hugs Belldandy, sniffing.

An instant later, a wave of energy washes over them.

"What was that!"

"A Gamma ray blast!"

"The amount of radiation released is enough to...", Skuld starts, but is interruted by Urd's cry.

"Holy Father, look!"

A miniature sun shines where the Takeda residence stood, then, a column of light rises to the darkening sky.

"That's an _Aegis_ class containment spell!", Lind exclaims.

"But, who could..."

Belldandy screams.

"NO! NOOO! KEIICHI!"

Both Belldandy and Urd accelerate almost instantly to the base of the slowly fading pillar of light.

...

**An insignificant Mortal's passing**

Keiichi feels lost. Belldandy and Urd joined Lind and her Wing of "avenging angels", confronting the evil demon that injured a Goddess, leaving him alone in front of the wreckage that once was a building, the roof and all walls torn down and scattered around.

Belldandy told him that he'll be safe here, that she'll be back within minutes, and that a Divine emergency rescue unit has been dispatched from Heaven and is due any moment.

He can feel waves of pain and despair coming from something glowing brightly in the middle of the ruins, and has no doubts about its nature.

Keiichi climbs the rubble and finds himself in the middle of what probably was a large living room, cluttered with debris and upturned furniture; on the ground, curled in a fetal position, her back pressed against a wall, lies an incredibly beautiful young girl, and he realizes the glowing light is actually her blood!

The young man kneels in front of the Goddess, emotion almost overwhelming him. Unshed tears well up in his eyes.

_What kind of monster can do something so horrible to... to... such a pure and beautiful creature..._

Keiichi rubs his eyes, trying stay cool. The dying goddess turns her dull eyes up to Keiichi, sensing his presence, but unable to physically see him anymore.

She quivers, and Keiichi puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her. He removes his biking jacket, rolls it up and tucks it under the Goddess' head.

The waves of pure desperation emanating from the Goddess wash over the mortal, threatening to overload his simple mind.

The words _Who… who are you? _resonate brightly in Keiichi's mind.

"Don't be alarmed… my name is Morisato Keiichi. I am… a friend of the Goddesses Belldandy, Urd and Skuld. I…"

_You're the Mortal that the Norn Belldandy chose? Call her! I… need help, to prevent millions of deaths…_

"Please… please, calm down! Don't worry, they'll be here in no time, everything is going to be alright!"

Keiichi tries his best to comfort the Deity. The young man never felt before such emotional pain, and can only imagine what it must have been for Skuld and Belldandy, a few minutes ago, in the Temple.

Keiichi tries to examine the wound, but the radiance emitted is so strong that he can't even bear to look directly at it. His hands are bathed in liquid brilliance, the Divine Blood staining with light his skin.

Then Sinthgunt squeezes Keiichi's hand, quaking. The Divine Blood spreading on the ground changes hue, turning blue and increasing its brightness, almost blinding the young man.

Her voice again weakly echoes in his mind.

_I'm dying…_ _there's no more time… I'm so sorry, so sorry for what will follow, Father please forgive Me, I am too weak, it's all My fault…_

"NO! NO! How can I help you! Stay with me, please!"

_You… I sense an Angel receptor in you! How is this possible… within a mortal… _

"I hosted an Angel before, I…"

_Yes! Yes, I remember now! Oh, Lord Almighty, you're My only hope! _

Sinthgunt desperately calls upon her last spark of life, her eyes focus for an instant, regaining their aquamarine color, and suddenly rises to strike her palm on Keiichi's chest.

The young man staggers surprised from the force of the blow, and collapses feeling a burning pain within.

Sinthgunt's voice echoes one last time in Keiichi's mind_: Morisato-san. Her name is ArchLight, call Her forth and… She'll know… save… to save…every…_

The Goddess crumbles lifelessly in a heap and stands still; an instant later her body starts glowing bright purple, an effect of the Cherenkov radiation.

Tiny particles of light are emitted by the Goddess and soon, the whole room disappears in a cold firestorm, a sea of sparks enveloping Keiichi and everything around him.

A strong smell of ozone and... overcooked hamburger? fill his nostrils. Every surface begins to smoke, and ignite spontaneously.

Purely on instinct, Keiichi screams.

"Archlight, come forth!"

The magnificent Angel explodes in a tornado of white and bluish sparks, and immediately forms a confinement sphere around Sinthgunt's body; impossibly complex strings of runes circle the sphere, while Keiichi feels an incredible strain, the Angel drawing every iota of energy from his soul to sustain the Aegis spell.

Time seems to stand still, then...

The sphere pulses with an incredibly bright flare of light, while a beam of immense energy surges from the apex of the sphere, shooting towards the Heavens.

Seconds later, the shower of light subsides, while the Aegis sphere collapses, and nothing remains of the Goddess' body, completely sublimated into elemental energy. Within the boundaries of the sphere, everything disintegrated, leaving a perfectly spherical hollow imprint on the floor and wall.

Keiichi grabs his temples as a primal scream explodes within his mind, a presence expressing absolute grief for the loss of the soul of which the Angel was the purest reflection, adding unbearable agony to the mortal's already anguished heart and physical body pain.

Keiichi falls to his knees to the charred floor.

The Angel hovers above the crippled body of the mortal young man, feathers of light lazily drifting about, Her tears falling.

In Keiichi's mind, ArchLight projects not words, but concepts, explaining what happened. Sinthgunt's body is made of pure energy, resonating on a multidimensional plane matrix; to manifest physically on Earth, limited by a mere three dimensional matrix, a Deity must create a material body, which has to be incessantly recomposed at the atomic level. The moment a Deity dies on the physical plane, there's no more control and all the energy is released in an instant. Normally, this energy would have been handled through the Deity's link to Yggdrasil, but the cursed blade tainted the link, breaking it. Keiichi rationalizes the concept and understands: direct mass to energy conversion!

He realizes that ArchLight, containing the blast, saved the city, maybe the whole of Japan, from annihilation. The Goddess weighted maybe 95 pounds… that translates to a detonation of about 860 megatons' magnitude!

Within seconds, Keiichi feels dizzy and a strong queasiness, followed by an equally strong headache, hit him, while his skin begins burning, as if he fell into a boiling bath.

Keiichi grits his teeth, and forces himself to stand up; he fails miserably, ArchLight's containment spell burnt _everything_, and he relies on pure force of will. He can't support the Angel any longer, there are no Goddess' near to sustain him with their compassion.

A sudden metallic and salty taste in his mouth and wetness on his chin makes him touch his face.

There's blood flowing freely from his nose.

Every breath painfully pumps liquid fire in his lungs.

These symptoms… Keiichi knows what happened to him. The flash of ultraviolet light… he's been exposed to an incredibly massive amount of ionizing radiation.

He realizes he's going to die.

The Angel knows as well, and immediately embraces Keiichi, supporting him, a look of deep concern on her beautiful face; Keiichi looks up to his Angel, his eyes tearing up.

"Can… can you heal me?"

ArchLight slowly shakes her head. Keiichi slowly slides down on his side. ArchLight cradles his head on her lap, and Keiichi rapidly reaches a resolute decision.

_She's not going to die with me._

"A… ArchLight… will you… obey me? Promise me you will!"

The Angel nods eagerly, her hands caressing Keiichi's face, gently brushing off tears, and trying to wipe the blood away, grimacing as his skin flakes away at the slightest touch.

"Well… ArchLight… I… I… command you, to return to your egg form!"

A look of betrayal in the silent expression of the Angel, as she shakes her head, her glittering mane swirling around her. A single tear escapes her crystal eyes.

"You promised…"

The Angel bows her head.

Her immense wings, of the purest white, fold around her body, wrapping the beautiful Angel in a cocoon made of luminous feathers, which collapses in a single point of incredibly bright light. A small egg with two tiny wings, barely half inch long, hovers in front of the exhausted mortal. Keiichi stretches his hands, feeling hollow and spent, and with the terrible sensation that a couple of his limbs and his very heart have been torn away with the return of the Angel in her egg.

"Forgive me…"

The small Angel Egg in the palm of his hand, Keiichi slouches down.

_My God… I am so tired. I can't stand any more… maybe I'll lie down for a sec. Rest… _

Lying on the floor on his back, Keiichi turns his head to the side, an immense tiredness overwhelming every fiber of his body.

_Darn… this sucks. I won't be able to eat Belldandy's special dinner, tonight…_

Just before he closes his eyes, he sees a vision: Belldandy and Urd, enveloped in a magnificent crown of light, their wings extended, approaching him.

Keiichi smiles one last time, a sense of calmness and peace pervading his soul, and then, blackness swallows his mind.

_**The rest is silence.**_

…

* * *

><p>AN:<p>

Keiichi is dead? Keiichi is dead! Yup, he is, very much so. Obviously, it doesn't end here, there's still lots ahead, but K's soul is forever separated from his body and will never get his life on Earth back.

I admit being influenced, for the stabbing scene, to a quite strong scene in "Saving Pvt. Ryan".

Yes I know. Cherenkov radiation happens in water. But, Sinthgunt's a Goddess! So there!

Please! Review, let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

_OK! Fourth chapter up. Sorry for the delay, life seems to get at you every single time you ain't prepared… _

…

_**Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.**_

_**OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!**_

* * *

><p>…<p>

**Rewind. Four minutes ago, Heaven side**

…

Urd watches Lind disappear from the dais in a vortex of light, followed by her Valkyries and the Cherubs, in the first available Transfer Gate time slot.

"_Transfer complete. Estimated transit time: 0,125 cycles. Gate ready for next transit in 0,981 cycles."_

"Yggdrasil, synchronize and lock timestream with Military Operations Area's local time; switch all panels to local time units and grid refs."

"_Acknowledged."_

"Chrono, perform all preflight checks for the Emergency Healing people and prepare to send them in when the next hardline slot becomes available; they will need a Class III containment unit and a strong healing team ready for a hasty CASEVAC, we've got no idea what to expect down there. As soon as Lind reports back, we're going to make adjustments, if necessary."

"Yes, Milady!", the redheaded Goddess Third Class, Management Limited license and prospective Valkyrie eagerly answers.

"Ere, status report on Goddess First Class, Commercial Limited Sinthgunt."

"Locked her on the grid, Milady, but I cannot establish any communication. I'll update as soon as I have a reliable carrier line available."

"Thank you, Ere."

As she relaxes somewhat after her draining effort in managing the crisis, Urd scans from her vantage point the immense hall, built in the shape and size of a small mountain valley around the prodigious size of Creation's Supercomputer's Tree Trunk, with sloping terraces incorporating the workstations, pausing to acknowledge all her colleagues at their terminals and feeling somewhat nostalgic.

She held this post for hundreds upon hundreds of years, the one and _only_ second class Goddess to _ever_ have held such responsibility. For a moment, Urd truly ponders the possibility to return to her post in Heaven as Yggdrasil Main System Administrator. Sighing, the silver haired Goddess closes her eyes in thought, knowing full well that, even if The Almighty should forgive her, she could never leave her sisters by themselves… and her adopted little brother, all alone, back on Earth.

Her arms crossed under her breast and cross legged, she leans smirking against her elaborate backseat, and actually takes the time to take a distracted glance to the holographic labels hovering on the main multidimensional strategic display.

The AO location – in Nekomi, Japan - makes her ponder, concerned at how sudden and radical the events had turned. Her mood darkens, thinking about Skuld's dream and the reason why she's in Heaven in the first place.

_It's happening only a few clicks away from the Temple… I'm sure Bell's aware of what's going on. I really hope everything's okay…and that all this has nothing to do with Kei._

"Milady, Lind and her team are deploying. Materializing three hundred meters above objective… now."

"OK, Ex. Establish secure links and let's get a multichannel live feed as soon as possible."

"Yes, Milady", the pale lavender maned Goddess professionally answers, the coolness and control displayed by Urd calming most of the Yggdrasil Administration Team shift members.

Urd tenses and grimaces, the strain showing on her face.

"Hold on! I've got a reading!", Chrono voices loudly a moment later.

"Oh, Holy Father…", Urd whispers, squirming, sensing a great power shifting between reams, having no doubts as to whom it belongs to.

Chrono continues her report, "Milady, an 'Omnipotent' class Celestial Being is forcing itself through, materializing over the AO's coordinates!"

Urd shakes her head, standing up. "I know, Chrono, I felt it. It's Mother. I've got to go, apart from the Almighty, I'm the only being in Creation that may be able to stop her without risking losing half Midgard! Yggdrsil! Authorize Goddess Second class Urd, Norn of the past. Entrust Prime SysAdmin and access to root, to the slutty goddess over there!"

_"Acknowledged and authorized. Transferring root access and SysAdmin privileges to Goddess First Class, Peorth."_

As a Key appears in her hand, Peorth glares, incensed, in Urd's direction, both for the insult, and the fact that Yggdrasil actually identified her as… a slutty Goddess!

Then, watching Urd change her dress to a Combat Uniform and unfold her Black and White wings, hovering in the center of the hall, realizes that the Norn is preparing to use Forbidden power.

"Urd wait! Don't do what _I know_ you want to do, there's a mere thirty seconds left to the next available Gate time slot!"

"No time, and I don't need to use Bilrost. Stand back!"

A circle of black runes spreads from the tip of her feet, expanding wildly in an intricate pattern; then, in a huge flash of black light, Urd disappears in a vortex of runes, leaving behind a thunderclap and a shockwave that washes over everyone in the immense hall, leaving all Gods and Goddesses present speechless and scandalized at the display of Demonic power.

The first to talk, claiming the highest chair, is Peorth.

"All right, if we're all finished admiring the awesomeness _de la fille de la Reine des Démons_, maybe we should get back to work. Yggdrasil, trace… '_Goddess'_ Second Class Urd, Norn of the Past.

"_Goddess Second Class Urd in unauthorized dimensional rift transit. ETA to Objective, twenty four local seconds"_

_Merde, merde, merde! Everyone in Heaven will know she used Demonic powers during MY shift!, _Peorth thinks, grimacing. _I can't avoid requesting it, any more._

"Yggdrasil authorize Goddess First Class, Peorth."

"_Authorized."_

"Requesting complete Prescience of the next 24 hours."

"_Request Denied."_

"W-what? On what grounds?"

"_Direct Almighty order."_

_Oh no. This is not good! The Almighty already knows everything. And is forcing us to take action without divination and future event knowledge! _

Peorth sweats bullets, her fists clenched tight.

"Ere, SITREP please."

"Milady, Lind is engaging the Demon responsible for the aggression with her team securing the perimeter, and we have a 100% positive ID on Lady Hild approaching… correction, her position now overlaps Lind's on the same MOA. I've got Goddesses Belldandy and Skuld also present on the grid… We should have full feed just about… now."

Hild, Vali, Lind and her wing appear on the immense main monitor.

Silence reigns in the hall, as the voices of the Demons and the Valkyries down on Earth are the only sounds crisply audible. All divine beings in the Hall hear Vali's Rightful Vengeance claim.

"The nerve that Demon has. Hariasa, pull up records of the Great Truce, and retrieve all evidence and data on this case", Peorth exclaims crossly.

The Elder Second class Goddess silently nods.

On the secure link, Lind asks Peorth to check on the skirmish.

"Already working on it, we're sifting data, I'll be back in one."

Heaven's Supercomputer voice detachedly updates Urd's movements.

"_Goddess Second Class Urd materialized in AO, LZ overlap with Goddess, First class Belldandy, Norn of the Present. Rapidly converging towards Lind and Lady Daimakaicho Hild's coords on grid."_

As all relevant data flows in real time on the holographic panels, and the Rose Goddess relates the information to the Valkyrie Commander down in the field, Ere announces, "Mylady, I've managed to establish a vitals monitoring link with Sinthgunt, but something is preventing a full duplex tethering. Data streaming uplink… wait… ah, no, not this, please, no…", her voice toning down to an inaudible whisper.

Peorth, sensing the grief obvious in the younger Goddess' voice, orders sharply: "Ere, complete your report!"

"V-virus detected, corrupting basecode, S-Sinthgunt's body is rapidly decaying… She's been poisoned!"

"_Merde!_ Ere, I want you to relay all stats to the MED TM, we've got the Gate open, send them in NOW!"

Another Goddess, at Peorth's far left, reports.

"Milady, Lady Daimakaicho Hild and the Demonic suspect have disappeared from all our monitors! I cannot detect any spacetime rift or any other macroevidence of dimensional interrealm transfer!"

"Lofn, try then to locate possible open Gates to Nifelheim, they may… "

Ere interrupts her supervisor. "Situation precipitating! Sinthgunt's earthly body corrupted beyond repair! I can't initiate an emergency containment spell; Flare Event Imminent, we're going to have a full matter to energy conversion of 100% of her physical mass in… 12 local seconds, now!"

"Suspend laws of physics in Nekomi!"

"Negative! Yggdrasil denies, realities are only 97.58 percent synchronized! No prediction as to the possible collaterals in that case!" Ex screams back.

"Then slow down time flow in the AO, dilate it one to a thousand!"

"Negative! No Time Domain Interference allowed, since all Norns are present in the affected dimension/reality!"

"Six local seconds to Flare Event!", a panicked Goddess in the background screams.

Peorth hears a muffled cry: "Holy Father, Keiichi!"

"What? Chrono, what was that!"

"Peo… Milady, Mr. Keiichi is three feet from Sinthgunt! He… he's…"

"Move over! Switch it to the Main Strategic Display!"

A cold silence falls among all the Goddesses, each furiously plucking the strings of their workstations.

It's all useless.

The ambient radiance almost imperceptibly darkens for an instant, and all the workstation panels blank momentarily.

Then, Yggdrasil serenely states.

_"Aegis class emergency containment spell access request, priority Alpha; purpose, Divine Energy transfer: Granted. Link established. Incoming…_

…

…_Complete. 99.998 % of all energy accounted for."_

A distant thunder rumble can be heard in the background.

Peorth, Ere, Ex and Chrono pale visibly, aghast and shocked, knowing perfectly what happened. For the first time since the Great War, a Demon succeeded in terminating the life of a Divine being.

…

After a few moments of absolute silence and stillness, a quiet sobbing attracts the attention of many Deities.

Hlìn, all but forgotten Supervisor of the Goddess Relief Office, hides her face in the nook of her arms, sprawled on a low table in front of which she was seated.

Peorth swallows her tears and tries to regain control.

"Y-Yggdrasil, status report on Goddess First Class Sinthgunt."

"_Goddess First Class, Commercial License, Limited Sinthgunt presently reverted to distributed natural energy state. License and account indefinitely suspended; Divine Soul Essence, permanently dissolved."_

There's an instant of quiet. Then, the Supercomputer voice detachedly adds:

"_May the Ultimate Force welcome Her in Her journey to the Beyond."_

Surprise greets the remarkable comment voiced by the otherwise always emotionless Life Tree Supercomputer.

Many Goddesses fight back tears. A few weep outright.

"M… Milady… Yggdrasil did not mention Sinthgunt's Angel…"

"Yes… right. Chrono, check on Keiichi, I believe he's got something to do with that. Ex, I need damage assessment; Ere, establish a comlink with Urd and Belldandy, and order our teams to organize a perimeter around Ground Zero. Lofn, still waiting on the bastard and his master's position, my orders are still standing."

"Milady… The mortal Morisato Keiichi is reported as deceased. He passed… Excuse me. I…"

Chrono's voice breaks, and after a moment continues her report.

"Mr. Morisato passed from a lethal exposure to hard radiation from Sinthgunt's mass to energy conversion. I will update as soon as I have new info."

Ex starts her own report.

"Milady, Yggdrasil reports 37 present casualties from the Gamma Ray Burst, increasing. There are at least another eighty three hundred mortals that are terminally affected in half a click radius that will pass on in the next thirty local days."

"Thank the Almighty, Japan islands still exist! Ex, continue your report!"

"The Aegis spell has been deployed by Sinthgunt's Angel, Archlight; it was three seconds late to contain the initial flow of gamma rays from Sinthgunt's body decomposition, but has successfully contained the following flare."

"That is not possible. An Angel cannot execute such a spell connected with her Host; she would cease to exist with her host's flare, therefore the spell would collapse before containment", Ere counters.

"I've got the answer to that," Chrono interlopes. "Kei… Mr. Morisato acted as host to Archlight, and called the spell. Yggdrasil reports Archlight access to Sinthgunt's permalink thru Morisato's soul energy; she's the one that protected him from the initial radiation excursion, otherwise he'd be instantly incinerated, buying him just enough time to call her forth and initiate the Aegis spell."

"But, how can…"

"_Punaise!_ You'll all have eternity to speculate; I _still_ don't have a report on Hild!"

Peorth glares her operators, fire in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Milady. I have no update; Lady Hild totally vanished, we cannot trace her. I can confirm, however, that she is NOT on Earth, except for a semidormant representative fragment in Nekomi, of which we never lost confirmed lock on."

"thank you, Lofn. Ere, I want to talk to either Urd or Belldandy, do you have an open channel?"

"Working on it. The dimensional shockwave is forcing us to resync everything all over again."

Sitting down with a very tired expression, her brow knitted and eyes closed, Peorth presses her palm on her forehead.

_Zut! Quel désastre… _

All deities present on the floor turn their attention to their supervisor, lost in her thoughts.

The Goddess stands again, clenching her fists.

"We still can solve the situation. It's too late for our beloved sister, but for everything else we can plead the Almighty a Divine Intervention. Ere, give me a status on the passed mortal's souls."

"Yggdrasil reports a 98,4% suspended state on all souls, basically there's only one missing, excluding standing Nifelheim contracts."

"Good, leave it at that. If we're granted a Divine Intervention, we can effectively return everything as it was, including the lives of all the mortals affected. Call Judge Advocate offices and request an Official Dogma clearance on the grounds of Overt Demonic Interference in Mortal Affairs."

…

**Immediate aftermath**

…

The gate abruptly appears in the evening sky, a brightly glowing circle surrounded by a continuously shifting intricate pattern of runic formulas. A second concentric circle expands in the center of the gate, allowing passage to the Emergency Extraction Team, followed by a Special Duty Valkyrie wing, riding winged steed and wielding glittering pole arms, streaming through the magical passageway with a speed that belies imagination.

The EET operators rush towards their objective, instantly slowing to a complete stop as they behold the scene before them.

Three Goddesses, the Norns, illuminate with their presence the scorched and smoldering ruins of a building, in the center of what accounts to be a circle of destruction that leveled a good portion of a city block.

There's no sign of the wounded Goddess Sinthgunt, while Commander Lind's Emergency First Response Team hovers, circling slowly in utter silence above the Norns, securing a perimeter.

An exceptionally fine greyish-white ash covers all the surfaces, as if the heat of a thousand suns flooded the neighborhood for but a moment; incredibly, the damage of the surrounding buildings seem quite limited.

The surprise last mere instants, as every Celestial being emerging from the gate receives a full update of events through their link with Yggdrasil.

Goddess First Class Belldandy, Norn of the Present, kneels in front of the charred spoils of a mortal, resting prone among the scorched rubble and ashes on the remains of a tiled floor; both her sisters stand at her side, speechless and motionless.

In the distant horizon, the sun is setting, painting the cloudy sky of deep orange, blood red and purple, while the temperature cools. The air is unnaturally still and an eerie silence saturates everything.

Reverently, a Healer God approaches the Norns, then silently kneels next to Belldandy, apparently frozen in time and totally oblivious of his presence. He extends his hand towards her head, as a soft glow shimmer around them, then turns his attention to the burnt corpse lying before them.

Keiichi's blackened face is turned to the side, eyes closed, lips curled in a thin smile, with an expression of peace and serenity, despite the black blood slowly pooling beneath him. Suddenly, two glowing Archangels flutter above the small group, their ethereal wings displacing no air, finally landing in a silence that could only be compared to the vacuum of interplanetary space, on both sides of his burnt hand, where a tiny egg with two small wings fell out of the mauled palm.

With incredible care and tenderness, both Celestial beings lift the Angel egg off the ground, levitating it and wrapping their hands around it. Then, they both lift off, carrying away their precious load, fully spreading their immense wings and finally disappearing in the open portal of the Gate.

Belldandy has not moved since she fell on her knees before Keiichi's lifeless husk, not even bothering to retract her wings, now unevenly spread at her sides, shocked beyond belief, her mind in turmoil as incredibly painful images flood her conscience… Keiichi's last moments, rendered by her Divine ability to replay recent events.

His pain, agony in sustaining the Aegis spell to protect other's life, and supreme decision to at least save Sinthgunt's Angel once aware of his fate, loop constantly in her mind.

Belldandy doesn't realize that tears slowly moist her perfect face. Her hand, open in Keiichi's direction, almost imperceptibly shivers, as if trying to reach something that's long gone.

"Belldandy."

A dark, almost bronze hand gently touches her shoulder.

"Belldandy... Please, look at me."

The Goddess of the Present slowly turns up towards her older sister, tearing with immense effort her eyes off the broken body on the floor. She answers, distraughtly, "Yes?"

"Please… come with me. Let's go home, there's much to do."

Belldandy's voice is dull, washed of all emotion. Just stating a fact.

"He's gone, Urd. His immortal soul… it's as if it never existed, totally erased from existence. I can't find him."

_Behind this dam of apparent indifference, a supernova of pain and grief must be waiting to explode_, the older Norn thinks.

"Bell…"

Urd's voice breaks, tears welling up in her purple eyes, finally streaking her cheeks. The older Goddess draws her sister in a desperate hug, abruptly pulling her up from the ground and making her flap a couple of times her still extended wings to regain balance.

Urd whispers into Belldandy's ear.

"I know, Bell. Kei's no longer on this plane. It's normal, he's been _collected_. He's piped in for judgment like any other mortal. That… that…" - she turns to take a last glance of the body on the ground, - "shell…isn't Keiichi any more. Those are… just ashes."

Pulling back, and facing her younger sister, Urd wipes her eyes and, holding Belldandy's shoulders, hints a pale smile.

"I know it hurts, Bell… but, not all is lost! There's hope! We could… ask The Almighty to fix things. We could plead granting a Divine Intervention!"

Belldandy waves her head slowly.

"Our Lord will never grant us… me, such a concession… I am not worthy of…"

The Bronze goddess shakes her younger sister, her smile faltering only a bit. "Nonsense! Look around you! I feel… death and grief, many have suffered unnecessarily because of Mother! If this is not Demonic Interference, I don't know what is! Hope, Bell! Have faith!"

The Goddess of the Past again pulls her younger sister close.

"Don't lose hope. _He_ wouldn't want it. Please, come with me."

Belldandy silently allows her sister to tug her away, idly walking by her, hand in hand.

Lind and four Valkyries silently coast the two Goddesses, followed by a totally shellshocked Skuld, forming an escort to the now reunited three Norns.

"_Urd"_

The silent voice directly travels along Yggdrasil's Permalink interface, reaching the Goddess deep inside her mind.

Startled, Urd replies telepathically.

"_Peorth? What… what are you doing?"_

"_Damn your Mother, Urd! What the HELL, and mind you, it's not a coincidence I'm choosing these words, are YOU doing! Merde! Do you understand that you've used Demonic powers in the Sancta Sanctorum of Heaven? You understand what the consequences could be?"_

"_Peorth, I don't care! Keiichi's dead, Bell's having a serious breakdown, she could become unstable and after what happened with…"_

"_Shutup! I could have Lind arrest you! The Council could Seal you up and separate you from your sisters forever!"_

"Peorth!" Urd screams, startling her escort and both her sisters. The Goddess of the Past nervously glances around her and replies again using Yggdrasil's Permalink.

"_Peorth. Do not dare lecture me. We both know who I am, and you, of all people also should know exactly WHAT I can do. My family is hurt, and I am not going to discuss this further. Only two beings in Creation can tell me what I can and cannot do, and it is still up to me whether or not humor them. Is this clear?"_

"…"

"_Good. I will escort my Sisters home, at the Temple. I am sure you're already requesting a Divine Intervention, on the grounds of Demonic Interference in the Mortal Domain, right?"_

"_Overt Demonic Interference in Mortal Affairs."_

"_Whatever. Just be sure that we get Keiichi back. By the way, give Hlìn my condolences for her pupil's demise."_

"_You must be joking."_

"_No, I am not. I am still a Goddess, you know."_

Peorth cuts the link, scowling. Hlìn never hid her distaste at Urd's arrival in Heaven, never lost an occasion to insult the Norn because of her half Demon heritage and ultimately voicing rather loudly her opposition at Urd's appopintment as Yggdrasil System Administrator, causing the Almighty Himself to intervene. Urd herself never could stand the older Goddess presence.

Urd grabs both her sisters in a group hug, beaming.

"See, Bell? I told you, that everything's going to be all right; good ol' Peorth's has it covered! I've just had confirmation she's requesting a Divine Intervention. Everything will be restored, including Keiichi!"

Without a word, Belldandy buries her face in the quite generous breast of her older sister, crying tears of relief.

"Everything is going to be allright. Come on, now. No need to be subtle anymore."

An incredibly complex Mandala appears beneath the three Goddesses and in a flash of blue light they are gone.

Lind leads the group of remaining Divine Beings towards the Gate, having also received Peorth's update regarding a possible Divine Intervention and her new orders.

"Everyone except my VCSAR team, move it. I want the grid free within the next six local!"

The Valkyrie commander turns to her Cherubs.

"You guys too. There's good chance a DI operation will be carried out shortly; can't have anyone below Third Class down here when that hits."

…

**Prelude to Divine Intervention**

…

"Peorth, dear."

Following the soft words, heard by everyone as if they were whispered directly in each one's ear, a Goddess appears hovering midair in a crown of light, clad in a shockingly white toga, her long, glittering gold mane in a braid falling back all the way to her naked feet. An immense Angel glides behind her, gliding with her wings spread wide and her arms stretched in front, allowing the Goddess to rest against the Angel's hands.

Peorth watches the impressive display of serene and relaxed power, immediately standing in attention from her command chair.

"Yes, Milady Freyja?"

The Goddess' voice is laced with steel and authority.

"It is The Allmighty's wish to entrust you, Child, to be His Hand and Will, granting temporary release of all your Divine bonds and limiters, thereby allowing You to express the fullest extent of Your power and potential in the restoration of all damages and mortal lives lost on the surface of Earth in the aftermath of our daughter's Sinthgunt's passing."

Peorth wavers under the weight of the Older Goddess' words, an immense honor and at the same time the passing of His judgment upon her.

"Peorth, Goddess first class, first category unlimited, do You accept to be His Hand and Will in His Divine Intervention?"

It is simply a formality. There's no choice in the matter, but the illusion of Free Will in Heaven must be satisfied.

Peorth bows her head.

"Yes, Milady. I do."

Freyja's voice returns to be a mere whisper, this time to be heard only by Peorth's ears.

"That's a good girl. Hon, once you're back, come by to enjoy some homemade Mead and pastry with us, you're always welcome; it does not have to be an official visit every time, to see each other."

"Y… yes, auntie."

In an anticlimactic display, Freyja just disappears, leaving an afterimage slowly collapsing into fine mist perfumed of apples and mint.

Peorth slowly sits back in her chair. Around her, all the Deities tending Yggdrasil turn their eyes to the Goddess, in awe for the immense honor of becoming His Hand.

In silence, Peorth ponders over Freyja's message, 'reading between the lines'.

_I- I've been found wanting. Guilty of allowing Urd to handle the emergency in my place… permitting her to use Forbidden powers in the sancta sanctorum of Heaven, and once bequeathed power to her, letting her abandon helm of Yggdrasil in a crucial moment._

_Sure, she's good at what she does. Maybe the toll would have been worse if Urd hadn't helped - no one else would have been able to pull back up Yggdrasil in such short timeframe._

_But still, I'm now at fault._

_So He deems an appropriate punishment granting to express Ultimate Power on Earth to me, allowing me to become His Hand and Will. The highest honor a Divine being could aspire to… only, in my case, it's to fix the mess I've helped create because of my incompetency._

Peorth hides her face with her hands, a bitter tear gliding slowly over her cheek. Her eyes snap open, glowing. Rising, she holds her arms high, and thunderously claims the Power. All her jewelry and clothing disappear, before her body vanishes turning into the Light of Creation.

…

**The true power of the Gods**

…

The last glimmering of the sunset gently subsides, leaving a deep red glow outlining the silhouette of the mountains in the background. The dark sky has cleared in the last fifteen minutes, the menacing clouds simply disappearing, leaving a starry purple black dome above a completely dark Nekomi city, all lights off because of a massive blackout.

Police cars and ambulance sirens whine in the distance, blue and red flashing lights speed along the dusky and deserted streets, converging to Ground Zero. No aircrafts yet fly above the area.

A ghastly sight welcomes the first to enter the roughly half kilometer radius around Ground Zero: all buildings perfectly standing with many people lying in the streets, or staggering weakly, about to die from terminal radiation sickness.

The gamma ray blast and Electro Magnetic pulse disabled every electric and electronic device in a twenty five square kilometer area; military satellites of the Planet's superpowers detected the pulse and the initial hard radiation excursion, and some also recorded the UV light emission, identifying it as a nuclear reaction, even if no double flash had been observed.

The world's Governments are in turmoil. Most of the world's armies started preparing for the unknown; combat crafts patrolling the skies, submarines preparing their SLBM's and nuclear arsenals readied, while the civilian population simply lives on, unaware.

In a room within Torikihongan Temple, Belldandy waits, frozen in a Seiza posture. Her eyes stare the infinite, her body locked. Not even a breath disturbs her perfect stillness.

Urd and Skuld peek behind the shoji door at their sister.

"U-Urd… I've a bad feeling over this. Very bad…", the youngest Norn whispers.

"Shh! Let's move outside."

In the garden, Urd silently proceeds to draw a complex pentacle on the ground. Black wisps move about as if alive, drawing even more complex patterns around them.

"There. Now it should be safe to talk, I've used Higher Demonic powers to draw this warding."

"D-d-d-demonic? S-s-s-safe? Me? Standing in a Demonic ward?"

"Oh, shut up Squirt! I've done the Ward, and You're family, come on!"

Urd grabs the smaller Goddess' hand and pulls her inside the circle.

"Ok, now tell me what's going on."

Skuld starts shivering, obviously uncomfortable inside the Demonic warding.

"I-I don't know, Urd. My Prescience has been blocked in the wake of… of the Flare, Yggdrasil put a seal on my powers. I only have… hints, sensations…"

"What?"

"I'm telling the truth! I swear! Yggdrasil has priority on our domains, since we relinquished them, once the supercomputer went online! You know that! And if Yggdrasil blocks our domains, either we abide to its ruling, or… or…"

"Yeah. Ok. Tell me about your 'bad feelings' then."

"I… still remember what my first dream about Keiichi was about… and there's something… wrong with what is happening now. It's… it's not happening _right_, not how it _should_!"

Almost on the verge of tears, Skuld clasps her hands in front of her, falling to her knees before her older sister, scared of the Bronze Goddess' eyes, now glowing and slitted like a cat's.

"Oh, Lord, Urd you know I cannot tell you more, even if I wanted it with all my strength!"

Realizing her behavior is frightening the sniffing Goddess, Urd lifts her up, hugging her.

"That's OK, kid, you've told me enough. I didn't mean to scare you. Come on, we'd better get back in, Divine Intervention should be starting any moment, now."

Right on cue, a Permalink announcement approved by both Yggdrasil and Nidhogg supercomputers, reaches every Celestial being, both Divine and Demonic, alerting of the impending Almighty's Act.

Urd and Skuld lightly knock at Belldandy's door. They both silently slide inside, and sit beside the Norn of the Present, a halo of azure light enveloping the Three Norns.

Somewhere else in Nekomi, Mara and Hild's fragment sit in front of each other, a red aura crackling around them. Many other Demons, Gods, and Celestial beings prepare themselves in the same way.

Minutes later, twilight turns to dawn, as an all-encompassing light shines on the horizon; a million suns erupt from the Heavens, and Peorth manifests Herself as the Hand of the Almighty.

An energy and power far beyond the comprehension of mere three dimensional mortal beings submerges everything, drowning the whole Planet in its unstoppable tide.

…

* * *

><p><strong>Notes<strong>.

_Sorry for the delay. I'm actually waiting to see what happens in the manga! The turning point presently hinted by Mr. Fujishima may have a strong impact to my story. Thank you for reading this, and please remember to review!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

_Fifth chapter up. It took a long time, and I apologize. I'm head over heels in a full time freelance (and underpaid) job that, coupled with two hyperactive kids and a hyper bossy wife, really manage to annihilate any free time I may have to write this…_

_I appreciate your support and… reviews, please let me know what you think of my story, comments, suggestions, anything. Some OOCness may ensue._

_**Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.**_

_**OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!**_

* * *

><p>…<p>

Emerging from the mists of interdimensional transfer, Vali expected to find himself in Nifelheim; surely, to be arrested, punished and/or tortured, maybe declassed and possibly sealed in a limbo for a few centuries if not millennia.

His surprise is absolute as the Demon tries to adapt to the sudden harshness of the unknown and lifeless environment in which they materialize: a barren and bone dry land littered with sharp and twisted rocks and reddish sand, an angry purple sky shading into dirty brownish red without a sun, but somehow fiercely illuminated, not a cloud in sight and totally devoid of wind or movement. The silence is almost deafening, in this sterile and dead world.

Confused, the Demon turns to face his Queen.

"Ops… It seems I've taken the wrong turn at the last dimensional intersection. Oh, well. Since we're here, all alone and by ourselves…", Hild sweetly recites, a mocking and taunting tone in her sexy voice, her hand shyly in front of her smirking mouth.

She crosses Her arms to reach over her shoulders to unfasten the main latches of her dress, which falls to the ground sliding over her bare, dark skin as if it was made of liquid lead, pooling as a gleaming puddle of black liquid at her feet.

Vali doesn't believe his own senses: the Queen of Nifelheim is totally naked before him!

The initial excitement dies instantly, though, as the wrongness of the situation hits him.

His eyes are attracted to the Seax that magically materializes in Hild's hand.

Hild giggles, noting Vali's uneasiness.

"Is this what you're worrying about?"

She holds the Seax in front of Her, and vaporizes it in an instant, sparks flying around her body.

"There. All better, right?"

Hild opens her arms to Vali, exposing herself completely, inviting him to embrace her.

The Demon steps back, fear flooding his very being, slowly shaking his head, finally understanding.

The Queen of Nifelheim cutely pouts, crossing her arms under her bare breast.

"You're no fun. At least, your very last moments could have been in the arms of the most beautiful woman in Nifelheim… lesser Demons have _died_ for this honor…"

Vali feels trapped and desperately tries to find an escape route, but teleporting seems inhibited; the Demon turns around, running a couple of steps, then spins aimlessly on himself, terrorized, his eyes darting in every direction and finally resting again towards Hild, but unable to endure Her glare. Visibly shaking, he manages to speak.

"My Queen, W… why? You defended me on Midgard… You accepted my claim for Rightful Vengeance! I… I thought…"

Hild casually waves her fingers, and Vali freezes on the spot, becoming a living statue.

She walks up to him, and stares right in his eyes.

"Yes indeed, I did. I surely am not cross with you for what you've done to the little Goddess… that's to be commended, actually", she purrs, an incredibly white fang appearing between her sensuously parted lips.

Hild closes in, invading Vali's personal space, and, hovering a couple of feet above the ground, slightly bows her head to sniff his auburn hair, closing for an instant her eyes in glee, allowing her impressive breasts to wave in front of his face. Her hand reaches behind his neck, gently petting his red mane.

"Oh, no. I'm a bit… _displeased_ because you've acted disrespectfully and recklessly to my blood. By attacking Sinthgunt, it is as if you've knowingly and directly attacked my own beloved Daughter Urd. "

Hild then gently caresses his normally handsome face, now locked in a twisted mask of pain.

"Oh, my. Sorry, I forgot you cannot reply."

She lightly passes a finger over his lips.

"There, that better?"

"Unbinded D-Doublet… U-Urd was… never in danger… I…" his voice comes out choked and with great effort.

"Mmh? Sure, the SysAdmin did tell me a couple millennia after my baby became a Goddess, that Sinthgunt and Urd's Doublet link shattered… Wonder how did that happen", her lips curl up as her right index finger taps her lips, and she lets out an almost mischievous but incredibly innocent sounding giggle, "…but that's really secondary. Let me ask you this, Vali: what is keeping Ragnarok from happening? How are we, Demons and Gods, former brothers and sisters and now ultimate enemies, able to refrain from destroying each other in reckless abandon in the Final War before Rebirth?"

"The… Doublet Hostage System?"

Hild smiles and waves her hand. Vali mutely screams and shivers as every single cell of his material body feels mercilessly crushed, and black blood start running from his nose, ears and mouth, falling over his white robes, sullying the cloth with long tarry streaks.

The Ruler of Nifelheim arches her back, almost as if jolted by a spark of electricity, in ecstasy with her hands on her breast and loin, reveling and savoring the delicious tastes of Vali's exquisite pain, agony and fear. Then, she violently rips his tunic away, fully exposing his well toned and unquestionably beautiful body. Closing in, Hild bends on her knees and, tilting her head slightly, licks some of the dark fluid off his lips, then whispers to his ear.

"Allow me to tell you a secret."

Hild's skin visibly darkens weaving swirling patterns, from bronze progressively turning an ebony black, the contrast between the blindingly white of her hair and teeth to her skin now dramatic.

"There's less than five percent of all Gods and Demons really binded in a Doublet… Sure, it's the top five percent, with all the first and second class beings and a few more, but the truth is… _Doublet doesn't really work_."

Despite the terrifying pain every fiber of his essence is experiencing, Vali's eyes turn wide comprehending the meaning of the revelation.

"At the beginning, every Demon and God was linked. But, when we designed the system, we made a mistake… an original sin, if you pardon my pun. We linked the power to enforce the doublet to the link itself; apparently an elegant solution, to use the power of the surviving doublet being against itself to terminate it, without any external intervention: essentially a suicide. Automatic, immediate, painless and impossible to counter, self inflicted death. Except, it was found out that a minimum power level is needed to enforce the link; meaning that any lesser Demon or Deity below second class simply will not die when his doublet is murdered by a being of the opposite side… because they cannot provide enough power to the mechanism."

Hild circles the Demon slowly, taking in his sculpted forms, her hand sensually gliding along his neck, chest and back.

"You, of course, understand why both me and… _Him_, wouldn't like this knowledge to be broadcast."

She bites his ear from behind his neck, licking the blood now dripping on his shoulder, then, whispering to his mauled ear. "Of course, because of this flaw Ragnarok will unavoidably and regretfully happen, since Doublet is bound to fall. I am working with the Almighty to delay it as much as possible… and your little stunt with Sinthgunt seriously _embarrassed_ me. See… in Nifelheim… many are already wondering why, in retaliation to that little bitches death, no Demon was reported dying _**–yet**__._"

"Y-You… Hagall was right… You've turned soft, and…" Vali manages to wheeze out before Hild's hand gently squeezes his throat, digging Her fingernails in his windpipe.

"You've misunderstood… my destiny, as is the Almighty's, is to fall in that battle. Sure, I have no hurry to meet my fate. Although, I admit it pleases me to know that my baby Urdie… _WILL_ survive Ragnarok… to become the tip of the scale, balancing Heaven and Hell and all that, but more important _TO ME…_ ultimately ensuring my blood will not die with me. Oops!"

Hild is again in front of the Demon, and gazes amusingly in his glassy eyes.

"You naughty boy, you! You've managed to cleverly pry out of me all this super-classified information!"

Shaking her head in overly faked sorrow, Hild cups his chin.

"Oh my… Even if I had a doubt before… Now, I really can't let you go knowing all this. See what you've done, now? I mean, if you haven't been so _insistent_…"

Pulling back to once again look at him in his eyes, she smiles wickedly.

The Ruler of Nifelheim starts to gleam and shine, light glinting off her shoulders and her every curve with a soaked look. A glossy black oily fluid, covering every inch of Hild's naked body gradually flows over her skin, small drops running along her face, neck, over her chest, flanks, hips, down her legs and finally dripping off her hovering feet to fall on the dusty ground, instantly _liquefying_ it, turning the ground to the same tainted and foul liquid, spreading corruption and decay over the planet with a unstoppable ripple, swallowing rocks, boulders and mountains in a black sea in every direction.

"Oohh_… _you sure know how to turn on a woman, see how you managed to make me… _wet_ myself?"

Only Vali emerges as a living statue in the middle of the flattened and liquefied surface of the planet. A low rumbling, with a subtle vibration fills the harsh atmosphere. This world, unable to withstand Hild's corruption, is collapsing.

She pays no heed to it, and playfully traces her finger on the Demon's bare chest, her fluid corroding and smoldering his skin and leaving a deep wound on his flesh from which pus and dark ichor runs copiously.

"This will hurt me more than it will you… _metaphorically_, of course. I hope you'll enjoy it, as much as I will - pain is pleasure, after all. But, before I start, I want you to know that I irreversibly tied your essence to this dimension's physical and very mortal manifestation of yourself. So… once this body dies…"

Hild's eyelids flutter in almost uncontrolled lust, licking again her lips in depraved anticipation, unholy fire shimmering in her violet eyes, as all around the two beings darkness falls like a heavy and sinful blanket. The following words are whispered more to herself than for Vali's ears.

"Well, you die."

Giggling, she embraces the frozen Demon, locking her lips to his in a wicked kiss, pressing her bare body against his, grinding her hips against him, her fingernails turning into translucent purple talons, sinking into his flesh… wrapping her legs around Vali's body, in an obscene parody of lovemaking, corroding, plaguing and burning it, as immeasurable, paroxysmal pain consumes his flesh and his mind.

…

**Basking in the Radiance of the Light of Creation**

Peorth joyfully sings, free in Her unrestrained True Form, her voice harmonically resonating across all dimensions, her essence an ocean of light, of energy, reaching with her cupped hands a tiny blue sphere –Earth- floating before Her in space.

Being nowhere and everywhere simultaneously, She flows across the lands and waters blowing as a raging holy wind, intimately rebuilding the affected portions of this world, molecule by molecule, atom by atom… assembling Divine basecode, knitting together reality… Using the Light of Creation, She reshapes matter and teleports it back into place, restoring buildings, vehicles, vegetation, and above all, Life, returning souls to mortal flesh, reawakening women, men and children wrongfully torn away from their life, and healing everyone in Nekomi touched by Sinthgunt's farewell, rewriting human memories, modifying recordings and data all over the world, in a magnificent symphony of overwhelming **Power**.

In this state, She can also sense every Celestial being on Earth, Peorth feels the protective cocoons of the Dimensional displacement fields of the Norns, of Mara, Welsper and Hild's fragment, of Lind and of every other high level Deity or Demon maintaining a physical manifestation of themselves on this plane of existence.

In her Ecstasy, she notes there's still something that's missing… a little 'something' modestly affecting the Perfection of her Divine Intervention. Something nagging the small, barely pentadimensional portion of her mind still influenced by… emotion. As she approaches Completion, in a trillionth of a second she discovers the source of the imbalance: a single soul, that she surprisingly finds to be above her reach, beyond her power, outside of Yggdrasil's pipeline, and thus, cannot be restored.

The Deity knows that it was predicted and expected, as Yggdrasil's immediate initial damage assessment did report exactly one soul missing; in the greater scheme of things, one human soul would be totally insignificant. A glitch in the system that can be easily compensated for.

In Her wholehearted Perfection, and following Her premonition, Peorth checks the missing soul's signature.

Suddenly, something that a God in its True Form should not be able to feel, as such Deity should be above emotions and unbound to anything except loyalty to The Almighty, creeps into Peorth's decadimensional mind: panic.

The Deity instantaneously reroutes her power to Awareness, tapping into Omniscience and probing the Infinite for the missing soul.

It should be noted that almost nothing is impossible for the Hand of the Almighty.

But, Peorth finds that the missing soul is indeed beyond Her powers… since access to it has been denied by The Almighty Himself, erecting an impenetrable Wall of Light. Immersed in the infinite Radiance, and infused with Knowledge, Peorth understands and fully comprehends, but as soon as the Dogma is Hers, it fades, leaving the Deity only the awareness that the soul She seeks has irreversibly crossed the Threshold.

It is with supreme pain and desolation that Peorth's last act as His Hand is to force herself to stop the heart of a restored, again fully functioning and clinically "living" body, until now only awaiting the spark of its soul to resurrect, a spark that will never come back.

Her job complete, and knowing she fulfilled His Will, Peorth hesitates. She decides she has one more obligation to accomplish before ascending to Heaven.

An obligation arising from ultimately failing one mortal, that she came to care for as a true friend, and a Goddess, once acknowledged as a rival, and thanks to said mortal, now considered as her kin.

Her heart heavy with sorrow, she _streams_ below towards Earth's surface.

…

Inside a darkened room in the Tariki hongan Temple, Belldandy's eyes snap open. The faint blue halo around herself, her sisters and a small black cat disappear, and she stands slowly up, purposefully, taking a deep breath. The Goddess has a thousand mile stare and wears a neutral expression on her face.

"I believe I felt dear Keiichi's heartbeat…"

Urd and Skuld visibly relax, to tense again as soon as the Norn of the Present finishes the almost whispered sentence, "…but now, his heart stopped beating. I think that… that maybe my Keiichi has passed on. I…"

The Goddess brings her hand to her breast, paling visibly, while her voice breaks.

"…I…"

The Norn of the Present, in a very human display of emotion, sways and brings her hand to her forehead.

"Belldandy!"

Instantly, Urd is up at her side, an arm around her waist, and the other circling her shoulders, drawing the younger Goddess in a comforting embrace, whispering soothing words to her ear.

Urd looks back to Skuld, finding the youngest Norn frozen in midstep.

"Skuld! Hey, come help me!"

Abruptly, the Norn of the Future jumps back in shock, her back against the wall, both hands covering her mouth, staring at her sisters in horror. She suddenly cries, "No! No! A major branch out, a chrono criticality event changed the timeline's worldline loop mechanics, opening it up! C-causality…"

"What? Snap out of it, runt, I've got a situation here!"

Before Skuld can reply, a blinding flash flares above the temple, and a low thunder gently shakes the ground for miles. Welsper jumps away, his fur raised, hissing.

They all turn towards the windows, to the heavenly light shining through, while an invisible wind surrounding the Temple's grounds whirls a flurry of fragrant rose petals.

"Isn't it convenient, for her", Urd exclaims, gritting her teeth, "to show up in her full powered form… now."

The Bronze Goddess momentarily releases her dazed younger sister, and manages to cover a couple of steps before a stream of blindingly bright glowing mist, flowing like a river on every surface, rushes inside to rise and gradually solidify into the ethereal shape of a Being of Light.

A seraphic Goddess appears before them, wearing only a plain Hangaroc of the purest white soft linen over her naked forms, with no jewels or accessories, her bare feet hovering over the tatami floor.

As the Goddess touches the ground and becomes physically tangible, breathing once again, details of her features appear that were invisible before, like the blue diamond sigils on her face, now including a dot in the middle to denote Her status as Unsealed, or the sparkling of her chestnut eyes.

"Yo, Peorth. Nice of you to drop by…", Urd sarcastically starts teasing.

Belldandy gently squeezes Urd's hand, silently stopping her, and takes a step forward.

Peorth steels herself, her lips a tight line with no color, jaw set tight grinding teeth, and bracing, unsure as to what to say, how to address Belldandy, feeling all the Norn's attention focused on herself.

The Goddess bows low to Peorth, her voice wavering, _begging_.

"Welcome among us, Lady Peorth. Please, tell me that my Keiichi is safe."

"B-Belldandy, _ma chère_… I… Did what I could, but…"

The obvious implication of Peorth's reply chills Belldandy.

White as a sheet, her eyes shimmering and almost unable to speak, Belldandy feels her chest tighten in a vise of ice, while Urd steadies her, placing her hands on the younger Goddess' shoulders.

"Where… where is he?" The Norn of the Present manages to whisper.

"I… deeply apologize, I am_ not _allowed to reveal that to you, Belldandy. I can only say that he was beyond my reach."

Belldandy politely and very formally bows again to Peorth.

"I understand. Thank you, Lady Peorth."

After a minute of painful and uncomfortable silence, Peorth speaks again, embarrassed by Belldandy's overly formal behavior, the Norn of the Present never again to rise her eyes to face the other Goddess.

"I am sorry, I am not allowed to stay any longer on Earth with no limiters and channeling the Full Power of Creation. I… _feel_ for you, and Keiichi, uh…"

"…"

"But… well. Just hold on, _chère_… Once you're back, I'll be there for you, in Heaven. And, please _don't lose hope_."

With that, Peorth becomes incorporeal and _flows_ away as a stream of liquid light, an ocean wave crashing against the room's furniture, washing through the walls and ceiling, seeping up and away to build a crackling and insanely brilliant sphere of energy above the Temple, and finally darting skywards with an immense thunder again echoing for miles, disappearing in the Main Gate to Bilrost.

Urd murmurs to herself, in a voice inaudible by her sisters, "Yeah, hope. That's all we've got."

As soon as Peorth is gone, her face an unreadable mask, Belldandy straightens up, resolutely spins on her heels and, completely ignoring her sisters, walks out of the room and into the corridor, stopping in front of the temple's old fashioned black bakelite telephone.

"I need to speak to Him", she says, in an almost apologizing tone, wiping her eyes with a small napkin.

Both Skuld and Urd nervously look at each other in silence, then quietly follow Belldandy and watch her pick up the receiver, dial an impossibly long number, and woodenly wait for an answer facing the wall.

"H-hello? I… I'm… Yes. I-I apologize. Milady, if only I could talk… No, Milady, I _do_ understand, but… Ah… Yes. T-thank you, Milady."

After a moment that seems an eternity, Belldandy very slowly and deliberately hangs up the receiver, bowing her head.

"Come on, Bell, don't keep us wondering!""

"yeah, Big Sis, what…"

"The Almighty is unreachable. Lady Freyja answered… She told me that He will release His Word to us as soon as He deems appropriate."

Before her stunned sisters, Belldandy slowly covers her face with her hands and finally breaks apart, softly weeping. A very thin drizzle starts pouring outside, and dark clouds rapidly hide the stars.

"Oh. Oh, Keiichi…"

Skuld runs to hug the desperate Goddess, while Urd's mood instantly turns from astonishment to worried concern. She states, matter-of-factly.

"It's logical, considering what happened. The only thing that probably keeps a war between Heaven and Nifelheim from happening is that, somewhere, a Demon must have died from Doublet's enforcement."

Urd's voice changes slightly, a hint of bitterness in her tone, "Bell, even knowing what Kei means to you… hell, what he means to all of us, to everyone else, back home, he was only a mortal human after all. While… Sinthgunt, on the other hand…"

A new, and even deeper, expression of guilt and despair upsets Belldandy's expression, blinking tears out of her cloudy blue eyes.

"For the Love of our Lord, Sinthgunt! How can I possibly be so callous to forget… No! I am nothing but a miserable creature! An evil…"

A mighty slap echoes in the room, and almost immediately, a flash of lightning illuminates the windows, with a low thunderclap following shortly.

Urd looks down to her sister, down on her knees, a hand pressed on her reddened cheek, an astounded look on Belldandy's and Skuld's faces.

"Don't! Don't you dare say it! You… you are… you _define_ what goodness, virtue and honesty are! No, I _know_ about evil, Belldandy. And what I do know about it, is more than enough for all of us. But…"

Clenching her fists, the Norn of the Past growls, "…I'm confused, Belldandy. Your reaction, now and… This… all this grief… my double heritage tells me that family and friends come first! But, it comes from my Demon side, my… _evil_ side, do you understand! While, my _Divine_ side… tells me that I should disregard my feelings for Kei, for you… and rather mourn the passing of a Goddess I barely knew… Damn! This is insane! The Almighty… allows all this! Allows you and Kei to be separated… to suffer…"

The area immediately surrounding Urd darkens visibly, dim sparks arching across her skin, the sigil on her forehead glowing a deep purple. Her following words are laced with ice. "Maybe it's time I pay Him a visit."

"No!"

Startling Skuld, which falls on her butt, Belldandy jumps up and throws herself at her older sister's feet.

"Please, Beloved sister, don't! Maybe… maybe He wants to test me. A-after the Gate of Judgment… I felt… _knew_ it in my heart that He did not fully approve of my decision… so, maybe…"

Urd, positively fuming, retorts, "Come on, Bell, how can you honestly believe this? You've more than enough proved yourselves, Kei more than any other Mortal in human history-"

"Urd, you don't understand! It's my fault!" Belldandy wails, "It's all my fault, because I changed his wish in Nifelheim!"

Urd stares down to her younger sister, kneeling before her, flabbergasted, her anger forgotten.

"W-wha? What are you talking about!"

"I… cancelled his first wish and made him agree on a different one. That is the decision I made I feel Our Lord does not approve of."

The white maned Goddess turns slowly to Skuld, still slumped on the floor, leaning with her back against the telephone table, her knees pulled to her chest.

The youngest Norn shakes her head in reply, and Urd again gazes on Belldandy.

"…It happened when Hagall drained me of almost all my Divine powers and severed Holy Bell's connection with me… I was in shock, had to act to save both of us… I…"

Urd kneels down to hug her younger sister, and with both her hands on Belldandy's shoulders, gently asks her: "Sshh… it's all right, Bell. But, please, tell me. What did you make him wish for?"

"I asked him to unite with me, with the condition that he vowed to face any and all trials with me; and that should this condition not be fulfilled… any contact with me shall be forever prohibited!"

Tears streak the Goddess' cheeks.

"And… and… so, I failed him, leaving him alone, to face _my_ challenge and trial, to face the end of his human life all by himself!… and now… he's…"

"Belldandy, calm down, you can't blame yourself for something like this. Listen to me. The way I interpret your contract, it's the other way round; had Kei _refused_ to face his ordeal, _then_, he'd be outcast."

Turning away her eyes from Urd, Belldandy stammers, "But… but, he's passed, Urd! He's no more, gone! How…"

"No, Bell! Look at me! Keiichi would've passed on, in any case! In a mere seventy years from today, at best, maybe even sooner, you would have seen him wither away and die! We've just got to do now, what we would have had to do anyway in a near future. New contract or not!"

Belldandy buries her face in Urd's breast, desperately squeezing the older Goddess' waist, muffling her pained screams, her body shaking.

"I'll look for him. His Immortal soul cannot disappear; not like that. Hell, I'll shake loose Heaven and Nifelheim upside down until I find him!"

Both Goddesses find themselves on the floor. Urd gently rocks her younger sister back and forth in her arms, cuddling her, Skuld at her side, reddened and puffy eyes on her young face as well.

_Lord the Almighty, she seems so small and fragile. So light and vulnerable, now._

"You know… I… wanted to live by his side… as a woman, Urd! Share his mortal life… walk at his side along his journey, and when his time came, be there, oh, for the love of Our Lord, Urd! I… "

"Sshh, Belldandy… Everything's going to be all right. We'll restore him, in a new physical body. Do you believe in me? Have I ever let you down - when it really counted?"

Despite the moment, all the emotion and her own grief, Skuld actually manages to roll her eyes and huff in disbelief to Urd's words.

Both sisters look at each other, and Urd moves away a disheveled strand of light chestnut hair in front of Belldandy's shimmering and puffy blue eyes.

"Tomorrow morning, as soon as Bilrost reauthorizes the Gates, I'll return to Heaven and I promise you… I _swear_ that I'll fix it. Look, it's late. How about we rest. It's been a hard and rotten day, the worst in at least my last couple hundred years."

She then squeezes her sister and kisses her on her forehead.

"Are you going to be allright?"

Belldandy nods to her older sister, but buries her face again in her bosom.

"Come on Belldandy, let's purify and soak a bit in the Furo."

Urd stands up, gently helping Belldandy up, and motions to a teary Skuld to come closer.

"Hey, Squirt, would you be able to fix up a round of tea for all of us?"

Pushing Belldandy towards the bathroom, Urd turns silently mouthing the words _'be sure to never leave Bell alone'_ to Skuld, that nods and dries up her eyes, still sniffing.

…

Later in the evening, a much calmer but still lost and immensely sad Belldandy sips her tea together with her sisters sitting around a Chabudai in the Temple's dining room.

For years, since Keiichi and Belldandy came to live here, followed shortly by Urd and Skuld, every evening the dining room would be alive and bustling with laughter, crammed with friends, guests and family, the occasional fight… and happiness.

Not so tonight.

Heavy silence weighs over everyone.

Urd watches Belldandy stare in her half empty cup of tea, a distant expression in her eyes.

Welsper sits, an annoyed frown on his feline face, on top of the couch. The Demon turned cat kept an extremely low profile since Sinthgunt's death, speaking in monosyllables and generally just staying out of the way.

Feeling that the silence can only increase the depression hanging in the room, Urd tries to console her younger sister.

"Belldandy… we will find him. He'll be back, and everything will be as it was. We will have a good time all over again, and have fun…"

Skuld, for once, takes the hint, and follows up some conversation.

"Yes, big sis, we will restore his body and we'll have lots of fun. I can't believe how many things have happened since I came on Earth."

"Hey, do you remember when Keiichi turned into a girl, messing with my potions, because he believed Belldandy was sick… that time, he managed to call Heaven all by himself, too."

"Goodness that was _fun_!"

"Yeah, Skuld! Hell, Kei was amazing as a girl –well half girl actually -, he had a quite a _rack_ that time! I've actually rolled on the floor when you _'girls'_ all played dress up…"

"Had to think about that, always a pervert, eh, Urd… Hey, it was about the time that asshole of your boyfriend happened by."

"Troubadour's no boyfriend of mine! The dork completely lost every last ounce of respect I had for him, way before he showed up here…"

"Oh, sure. You even cried for him."

"Hey. I was only moved by his _song_. Not by him! There's a BIG difference!"

"Sure, if you say so."

Urd ignores Skuld's teasing and turns again to Belldandy.

"Bell, do you remember Keiichi helping a Shinnentai reach heaven? It was when we went in vacation with the Auto Club at the Honda Lodge… what was her name? Chieko…"

The Norn of the present finally raises her eyes and a pale smile graces her features.

"I remember, Urd. Keiichi had been so generous…"

"Yeah, and how about when you tricked Keiichi and Belldandy into promising undying love for each other under the moon on top of the _-jeez!–_ 'three sisters rock?' My, what a lame name… and it was all bull too! Anyone could see that!"

"Ha, squirt! And who jumped right between them when Kei proposed? Who believed every word? Who actually had a crush for Kei afterwards? Ha? Ha? HA!"

"It's not funny. I was just growing into my powers! And emotionally unstable!"

"Sure. Just like when Peorth put one of my love pills in his drink, and everyone that he stared in their eyes just fell in love with him. Megumi, YOU _again_, Squirt…"

"You fell in your own trap too, you _mature bimbo!"_

"Nowwaitamminnute…"

Carefully resting the cup on the table, the Norn of the Present intensely stares at her playfully bickering sisters, and in a very quiet voice, says: "Dearest sisters, I love both of you. I don't know what would be of me without you… thank you."

Belldandy's heartfelt words bring tears to the other Goddesses.

Beaming, Skuld answers, "We will always be here for you, Belldandy! Right, Urd?", and proceeds to nudge hard Urd in the ribs with her elbow, spilling a bit of Sake from the oldest Norn's tea cup.

"Ah… of course, Squi- Hey! That's _my_ line!"

Urd manages to kick Skuld under the Chabudai, a feat all in itself.

"Ouch! Whatchayadiddatfor!"

"Just to be even, Squirt!"

"Stop calling me that, old hag!"

Belldandy watches her sisters exchange names and giggles, although the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

…

By midnight, Belldandy sleeps in her room, slowly recharging her energies. It would not be necessary with her fully intact Yggdrasil Permalink, but it allows her to meditate.

Skuld and Urd both are engaged in their preferred activities, that is, Skuld eating pounds upon pounds of ice cream and building a Soul tracking Device, which her older sister undoubtedly thinks will be absolutely useless, while said sister vegetates, sprawled half naked on the couch in front of a black-and-white Mexican soap opera dubbed - out of sync - in Croatian with Finnish subs on some obscure satellite TV channel, sipping gallons of cheap Sake.

Urd suddenly asks Skuld a question that has been bugging her.

"Hey, kid. What were you blabbering about, when Peorth visited? Something along the lines of a chrono criticality which changed the timestream."

"Uh-hu. Well, I was… confused. When Peorth materialized, I felt a shockwave disrupt the timeline, and that surprised and scared me, but now I can't pinpoint the problem any longer. The future is everflowing and always changing, but its main stream has a definite direction. All of a sudden, the direction changed. Something is controlling events, and it is messing with my temporal sense… since yesterday, I feel oddly dizzy at times. I'm really, _really_ worried."

"Hmm, and what about your premonitory dream of Kei's life's end on this plane? The one you told me about before all this mess started."

"I-I cannot remember the dream. I remember having it, I can remember even telling you that I could not disclose the dream to you… but I can remember absolutely nothing about it, as if it never happened, or…"

"…if _someone_ tampered with your memories?"

"No. As I said, I actually feel as if the timestream arbitrarily changed course, and any premonitory information I may have had disappeared because the future just changed for this reality. I see the future. What I saw simply isn't the future any longer."

"Uh-hu."

"That's exactly what it is."

Welsper jumps on the table and sits comfortably in front of the two Goddesses.

"I can feel the chrono altering influence, although I cannot pinpoint the manipulating source; it does not seem to be Demonic in origin, though."

"Are you implying that Heaven, Yggdrasil or even Father may be responsible?"

"No Urd, I am only confirming what Skuld said. I retain much of my temporal sense too, and I can feel it's effects. And I would know whether Nidhogg would be exerting power on this plane, don't you think? I'm still classified as a Demon!"

"So what do you suggest?"

"From what you gals said, and what I felt, something indeed changed the timestream. Now, very few Celestial Beings have the power to pull something like this off, that including Lady Hild, The Almighty, and you acting as full powered Norns – and of course, both Nidhogg and Yggdrasil supercomputers. I can rule out Lady Hild, anyone from Nifelheim and Nidhogg, as I already said."

"The cat is afraid to say that someone in Heaven is doing this," Skuld scoffs.

"No! That's not- I mean… hey, it could be someone else! Someone not tied to the Divine or Demonic realms!"

"Welsper, that is impossible, and you know it."

"Uh…"

"The point is not who did it, but why. It seems that something much bigger than Keiichi's death is going on."

"Urd, you nitwit, a Goddess has died! Murdered, a friggin' full blown, first class GODDESS! Is there something bigger than that? It hasn't happened since the Great War!"

"Skuld, Sinthgunt's flare and Keiichi's passing are obviously related, but there's still something we're missing; otherwise, he would have been restored in Peorth's Divine Intervention."

"Maybe someone fucked up. I mean, the guys _up there_… you know…" Welsper helpfully suggests.

"Welsper, Gods don't 'fuck up'. That's something the guys _down there_ would do."

"Interesting… Skuld, Welsper's got a point, there… maybe _it is_ that simple. It wouldn't be the first time some accountant made a mistake. One more reason to go investigate tomorrow morning. Listen, guys, I'm quite tired, and I need a bit of trash TV to recharge."

"Yeah, sure, and lots of el cheapo sake to wash it down, hmm?"

"Don't you have a totally useless machine to attend to?"

"Harrumph."

Returning to their activities, both Goddesses silently wait for the rest of the night to pass, none really needing sleep, the illusion only kept up for Keiichi's sake –except for Belldandy's peculiar power recharge method.

…

As the day breaks, Belldandy bustles in the kitchen, mechanically performing her morning routine and cooking a traditional breakfast for everyone. She moves slowly and silently, replaying the last twenty-four hours events over and over in her mind.

Urd and Skuld again find themselves around the Chabudai, with Belldandy kneeling in a seiza with the breakfast's tray, resting it on the table. Belldandy greets Urd in a very formal way.

"Good morning, Older sister. May I ask you if you intend to leave immediately after breakfast?"

"Morning, Bell… yes, I've asked Peorth to grant me an access through the Gate in about thirty minutes, I'm waiting for her authorization. Wouldn't want to sneak in again, besides, we haven't managed to talk about it, but… hmm, well, I've used forbidden magic to be able to bypass Bilrost, and I'm sure that the Combat Division shut down any dimensional shortcut… so I wouldn't be able to sneak in anyway."

"Oh my! Dearest sister, you shouldn't do things like that."

"I was sure you'd do something stupid, you old hag… you could get sealed for something like that, you know", Skuld miffs.

"Hey! Some respect here, kiddo!"

"Hrumph! As if you'd actually deserve it. Every time you do something that makes me believe you've grown up to be mature and responsible as Belldandy, like you did in Nifelheim, you then go out of your way to prove me wrong!"

The white maned Goddess turns to glare her younger sister, her purple eyes actually glowing.

Scowling, Skuld returns the glare, almost headbutting her older sister.

"Urd, Skuld. Please, don't argue", Belldandy quietly interjects.

Huffing, Urd jumps on the couch and switches on the TV.

"Well, still got half an hour to kill…"

The small screen of the TV set comes alive with the image of an anchorman in a news studio.

"…and now, the local news: a live report from Nekomi city, where an impressive blackout caused by a primary power station failure lasting until three AM this morning caused significant property damage, several car accidents and, sadly, loss of human life."

The image switches to a young brunette with a microphone in her left hand and a headset pressed to her right ear, standing in the middle of a road. There's a smoldering black mass behind her, fenced with yellow tape, and with firefighters, police and paramedics busy in the background, while blue, red and yellow lights flashes reflects on the puddles on the ground.

"Yes, Naoto-san, thank you. Yamauchi Akiko here, from the scene of a devastating fire that destroyed completely a whole residential building, killing two young men and lightly wounding six. The fire started approximately at seven PM, an hour after the blackout began, and firefighters ultimately managed to completely douse the flames two AM this morning. The victim's bodies are charred beyond identification, but Chiba Prefectural Police's Coroner has released earlier this morning a statement confirming that the two victims are in fact twin brothers, identified thru a dental records check, as Mr. Takeda Shin and Mr. Takeda Hayato, age 19. Their parents died five years ago in a highway car accident, and both Takeda siblings had moved from Tokio to Nekomi to live under their grandparents legal guardianship since. At the time of the accident, both victims were alone in the house; the cause of the house fire has been still not determined, but investigation is under way, and arson has been not ruled out due to the criminal background of Mr. Takeda Shin."

The severe bust of a plain clothes Police officer appears on the screen, talking in front of waving microphones; kanji subtitles identifying the officer as Hiroshi Toyotomo, Chiba Prefectural Police Inspector.

"We want to believe to a genuine accident due to the blackout; as a matter of fact, an hypothesis citing open flame candles is being credited as the most likely cause. But Mr. Takeda Shin's background cannot be ignored, and a possible Boryokudan involvement is also being currently investigated by the Fourth Criminal Investigation Division."

The image on the screen cuts back to the broadcast's studio.

"Another young man died, probably of heart attack, tonight; Mr. Morisato Keiichi, age 24, has been found by a bus driver this morning, lying next to his parked motorcycle, along a byway of Nekomi's Panoramic Touge, connecting Narashino-shi to Nekomi City."

A mug shot of Keiichi appears on the screen, obviously taken from his driving license.

"Authorities have ruled the passing of Mr. Morisato as totally natural, although a confirmation will be officially released this afternoon after the autopsy. In any case, Mr. Morisato had the time to pull his vehicle off the main road, turn off the engine and dismount before losing consciousness; this may have prevented a possible major accident that could have claimed many more lives, as all public lighting failed in the wake of the blackout, and other cars traveling along the-"

_Click._

The old TV set turns off with a small dot of light slowly dying in the center of the CRT. Skuld and Urd turn to Belldandy, her hand still raised with the remote towards the now blank screen.

The Norn of the Present has tears pricking the corner of her sapphire eyes.

"I… I apologize, but… I just realized! How Keiichi's parents, Megumi may be feeling right now. What his friends are feeling! Goodness… If they were watching the morning news… We have to do something about it!"

"Belldandy, we cannot reveal ourselves as Deities."

"But… Urd, their pain, and desperation! We have to do something. I owe them, Urd!"

"Yes. YES! I understand, you are right! But, but we cannot just appear before them, tell them Kei's dead. We cannot appear to _know_, Bell! Officially, he died of heart attack, on the way back from Whirlwind. Everyone MUST believe it was a natural death. Besides, once we manage to restore him, we need to have some very credible explanation, since we are not going to be able to pull off anything even close to a DI, and…"

A strange electricity seems to permeate the air, and an eerie silence falls over the Temple's grounds. Crickets and birds stop singing, and even the wind totally dies.

"Shucks. I should have known this would happen", Urd exclaims, pinching the bridge of her nose.

As on cue, a lightning bolt falls in the middle of the garden, burning a Divine message on the ground. The three Goddesses scramble outside, and Skuld reads out loud the Almighty's orders.

"**My children, you are all to return to Heaven immediately. All and every trace of your existence on the mortal plane must be removed and permanently erased. All and every contract binding you to the mortal plane is forever annulled and void. Such is My Word."**

The three Goddesses exchange astounded glances. Round the building's corner, a pair of green feline eyes, spying on the three goddesses, also widen in shock. An instant later, Welsper jumps high in the air, somersaults and disappears in a magic circle.

Skuld starts shivering.

"S-so this is it. We're recalled. We have to erase… oh, no! Sigil and Banpei! I have to… To… _E-e-erase_ them…? And Sentaro… _My_ Sentaro…"

As Skuld falls to her knees, Urd silently clenches her fists so tight her knuckles turn white, astonished at the ruthlessness of the message.

The biggest surprise is Belldandy. The Goddess visibly relax, attempting even a faint smile. Then, determination hardens her features, and steel laces her eyes.

Turning towards her sisters, Belldandy resolutely speaks with the True voice of a Goddess.

"I have chosen my path. Beginning now, I take this matter in my own hands, and will pursue my mission to the fullest extent of my powers. But, dearest sisters, I cannot do it alone. Are you with me?"

Her hand reaches her left earring, and starts unclasping it.

… 

* * *

><p><em>AN_

_Wow, this is LONG. I didn't mean to make this long, but it could not be helped, as I wanted it to end like this; but, many things happen in between…_

_I believe it is common knowledge that if a Demon kills a Demon, his Divine doublet does not die, and vice versa. The Doublet is only enforced when a God kills a Demon or vice versa. In Canon, this is not clear, since Welsper actually tries to stop time since he may die- taking Belldandy with him. For the purpose of this FF, I assume it is as previously stated._

_I hope my depiction of Hild isn't too disturbing. Although I like her character a LOT, I still feel that to be the Queen of Hell, uhm… you've gotta be evil, somewhat…_


	6. Chapter 6

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

_Sixth chapter up. As usual, I love Reviews… please! Let me know what I'm doing right… or wrong!_

_Ondhollr: Ancient Norse for "Mindful" and "Bearing in Mind"_

_**Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.**_

_**OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!**_

* * *

><p>…<p>

**Hild's surprise**

Outside the Coordinated Planes of Existence, and beyond the reach of most Demons, within Nifelheim and outside of its dimensional planes, there's a place eternally blanketed in absolute silence.

A flat surface, that seems to be a pavement of black granite, endlessly extends in every direction. The grain is coarse, but its face is so polished that anything above it is perfectly reflected. Mist limits the visibility at a distance, and light is scarce; above this pavement, the uniform and incredibly deep blackness of outer space.

Time seems still.

Until a flash whites out everything, and crowned by multiple circles of dark, spinning runes, a beautiful naked woman, her hair white as snow and her skin the color of bronze, appears hovering above the surface.

_Ah, home at last. I really need a bath…_

Hild waves her hand nonchalantly, and a large rectangular hollowed slab of granite rises to surround her body, to her hip's height, full of a clear liquid.

Sliding in the newly created pool, Hild stretches and yawns, her naked body embraced by the soothing liquid, her hair spreading around her over the water like substance.

Only the Daimakaicho and her immediate kin can reach this secluded place, avoided even by most time streams.

With a muted "poof", a miniature Hild appears sitting on the edge of the granite tub. Her childish features set in a serious expression, she exclaims, "It's getting increasingly difficult to talk to my main self, lately… but, the last few hours really set a record. Where the HELL were you!"

"Having a friend for dinner… what's _your_ problem?"

"A lot has changed on Earth. Vali's stunt may have started a domino effect… We've just had to endure a full Act of the Almighty. And… uhm…", Chibi Hild pauses, "oh yeah, Keiichi's dead."

Hild actually jumps up, standing in the pool.

"WHAT?"

In an instant, the granite pool disappears, and Hild is clothed again in her black leather dress.

Grinning, Chibi Hild adds, "but, on the other haaand, well… Belldandy lost it, and removed her limiters. That's when I've decided it was _healthier_ to 'port back home."

"Unite back with me."

Chibi-Hild seems to be absorbed by Hild's body. A moment later, another flash marks Hild's exit from her… bathroom.

…

Hild appears in a vast circular room, surrounded by tall arches and adorned with incredibly elaborate chandeliers, startling legions of Demons frantically working at digital terminals, and walks leisurely towards an ornate throne in the middle of the hall. Low level Demons throw themselves abjectly on the ground at her passage.

Higher class Demons bow their head, and many are down to one knee towards Her.

Her eyes cross with those of a First Class Demon with long, light honey hair tied in a tail with a cute bow, clad in a frilly dress with boots: Hagall. She nods to her Queen, her jaw set tight.

Sitting on her throne, Hild snaps her fingers and instantly all light seems to be sucked in the Queen of Hell. Only her violet eyes and her red facial markings remain visible, maliciously glowing in the darkness.

_It's showtime_, the Queen of Niflheim worriedly thinks to herself, as once again she projects a part of herself on Earth to witness the battle about to begin, a battle which outcome could change her daughter's very nature…

* * *

><p>…<p>

**Beyond the infinite**

…

The Multiverse.

Planets, nebulae, galaxies and dimensional planes speed past, as an immortal essence, free from physical burdens and immaterial to reality and time, travels towards its ultimate destination.

The separation from his mortal shell forgotten, all his needs and desires, hopes and emotions left behind. Only a thought mildly nags his perfect tranquility, that _something_ irreplaceable should have crossed past time and the mortal plane to guide him, leading the path. It lasts but a moment, a memory lost forever.

…

A sea of Light.

The soul that once inhabited a human mortal now wonders at the immense wall of light approaching. The wall stretches endlessly across all dimensions and all planes of existence, and welcomes what the soul has become, a tiny spark of the same Light.

He embraces it, merging with the Whole, ending his journey.

Then, for a time that has no meaning nor extent, the Immortal essence has access to the omniscience of the Ultimate Force.

And, in that Instant, he _**Knows**_ and fully understands the Great Plan, understanding his union with an Eternal Spirit eagerly waiting for him, before vanishing, losing himself like a drop of water in the ocean, whilst beholding the quiet eternity of the Infinite.

…

Aeons pass.

Whole universes begin and end, eras measured by the Multiverse's cyclic dimensional tides of expansion and contraction. Time, space, mass and energy have no meaning or consequence.

Until… in the absolute expanse of infinite space…

…

…

**I. AM.**

…

…

An Entity wakes, in a spark that quakes all fibers of this Universe, aware of itself, and of its environment: an immeasurable and eternal Void, filled only with himself… and a Greater presence, a supreme focus of infinite Power.

…

Centering its attention to the Higher presence, it still keeps awareness to everything and everywhere else, to the fullest extent of Time and Space, and finding none other, articulates a question.

The Greater presence replies.

"**This is the highest plane of existence, where all begins and all ends."**

The Entity ponders the message of the Greater presence. A reply to an unexpressed question once more is delivered by the Greater presence.

"**We are the ultimate force.**

**You are Energy, infinitesimal parts separated from the whole that is Us. Here You've dawned, again are birthed, and here You'll return, as it is, has been and will forever be."**

The Entity again ponders the message.

"**We must now part, and your time once more begins anew. Farewell, my Child."**

The Entity feels an acceleration, and realizes that it is concentrating into an incredibly dense singularity, collapsing until a dimensional rift appears. An instant later, the Entity is no more.

…

**Birth**

A tiny and pure being suddenly experiences Light, in a flare of Life that sends shockwaves throughout Creation.

Then… Coldness. And pain, weakness, and fear. A feeble wail escapes the frail creature's lips. But, pain slowly fades away, a new feeling takes its place, something new, unknown and surprising.

So soft… warm… and beautiful…

"Welcome again, My Child", a musical voice full of warmth and love whispers to the Divine newborn, cradling the small and vulnerable Life in her arms. The child calms and falls into blissful sleep, feeding on Divine Love and Compassion.

Resting alone on a divan suitable to an ancient Greek Olympic Deity, sprinkled with the half shade from a court of great Apple trees in an otherworldly garden, Idunn watches her child nuzzling into her bosom, basking in the Love she radiates.

The Goddess of Youth appears as a beautiful teenager with alabaster skin and viridian eyes, with a mane of light honey colored hair falling all the way to her heels, clothed in an ethereal white silken Himation, her body glowing with an aura of gold light, while a chorus of Angels circle slowly above the Goddess, saluting the beginning of a Divine Life.

A rare occurrence, in this era of peace and relative stability among Divine and Demonic realms.

Since Celestial Creatures, being Eternal, do not _need_ to procreate, generation of a new Divine Life is either fruit of immense love, or a necessity to fulfill or replace a key position to control Creation.

Idunn, feeling the benevolent Eye of The Almighty's on herself and her Child, on the verge of shedding tears, happily glances up to the Heavenly sky and closes her eyes, thanking Him and the Ultimate Force for the incalculable gift of allowing her cherished and only Child a second chance.

…

Millennia pass in the blink of an eye.

Idunn's Child grows, playing and learning, among other Celestial children, unaware of its own Divine nature.

"Ondhollr!"

Carried over the distance by a warm wind, Idunn's musical and melodious call, although just whispered, is heard by the whole flock of divine children, innocently frolicking in a beautiful garden bustling with shapes, sounds and colors beyond human comprehension.

One turns his head towards the Elder Goddess, his hazel eyes shimmering with mirth and happiness, his short, spiky and unruly hair flailing about. He jumps up high in the air, beaming, his arms wide to embrace his Mother.

Still more time flows, gaged by the rhythm of a single drop of water slowly dropping over and over again upon a rock… until the rock is no more, because of the endless pounding.

Again, millennia pass by, as time has no significance.

Time seems to be endless, filled with love, attentions and affectionate care.

Idunn cherishes every single instant passed with her child, teaching once more the Knowledge, and occasionally recollecting her fondest memories of her child's previous life.

Cradling the giggling form of her son, Idunn looks through a majestic Victorian window, outside towards a magnificent garden, to see her child playing with Divine animals, already grown up to look like a six year old human boy.

Ondhollr, feeling the stare of her Mother, still petting a pure white tiger with wings sprawled on the lawn, turns his head towards the window, only to find it empty.

So, all too soon, even for an Immortal that likely has all of Eternity to live, Ondhollr's infancy ends. Not a Divine child anymore but a young God, he finds himself attending the teachings of Great Gods, knowledge easily flowing within his mind, constantly leaving him craving for more knowledge, vying for every mentor's attention and care.

Small things, little everyday snippets of Divine Life constellate the God's progress, weaving a network of relationships, tying friendships, attending and passing endless exams and tests, proving himself time and again.

Sometimes falling, to rise once more. Failing, only to learn from each failure and improve.

…

One day, Ondhollr follows the other young Gods to the Sacred Fields, under the careful watch of their Mentors, to witness a special event.

Slightly older Deities, their age appearing to be similar to human twelve years old youths, demonstrate their abilities, powers and control, performing incredibly complex and beautiful acts over an immense plain of granite, surrounded by a gentle slope of grass, on which many Gods lay scattered, the whole scene loosely resembling a classical theater; on the side, a raised stage of white marble entwined with rose bushes hosts a panel of Elder Deities.

It is the crowning of millennia of training, in their first Divine Qualification exam; many will even receive a Divine temporary license this day.

Ondhollr watches, standing on the threshold between the grass and the granite floor, marveled at the miracles being performed. His eyes drift to one particular God, that attracted his attention because of his hazel eyes and unruly hair, so similar to his own.

Aware that a younger Deity is actually staring, the older God on the granite plain pauses his exercise to turn towards his peer standing on the edge of the grass field, only to find no one.

Shrugging off the awareness of a deja-vu, Ondhollr smiles to his mentor; for a moment, he truly thought he saw a younger version of himself.

Today he achieved his first license; it is only a temporary Fourth class, Limited educational license, but he feels as if he owns all of Creation. But, today is special for another reason, too.

His Mentor, holding his hand, guides Ondhollr to a hallowed place, outside of Heaven and in neutral space, where he will meet his Doublet.

Far away, a group of Elder Goddesses watch over the Doublet binding ceremony, as if they were but standing in front of the Sacred Fields; Idunn smiles and sheds one tear, filled with pride at her child's achievement, and brings her shivering hand to cover her lips, almost overwhelmed from emotion.

This is a glorious day, marking an end, and a new beginning.

Breathing the sweet Heavenly air, the Goddess of Youth then happily starts to offer the apples grown in her garden to the other Goddesses, picking them from a small basket that never seems to turn empty, celebrating the groundbreaking event.

Offering another apple to a beaming, blue haired Goddess, her gaze rests upon a breathtakingly handsome young God in his early teens, with spiky short cropped black hair and hazel eyes, a small blue, perfectly round "doughnut" ring seal on his forehead and at the corner of each eye, wearing a simple white and green Trainee Uniform and the standard issue power limiters, twin smooth golden bracelets and rings, walking leisurely with a couple of much younger Goddesses, his charge as academic junior tutor.

He turns his head towards the group of feasting Elder Goddesses watching from afar the ceremony and recalls with fondness his own Divine Qualification exam and Binding ceremony, millennia ago.

The young God then thinks of Idunn, his Mother, and how proud she had been that day; so much that in a rush of generosity, she distributed to all Deities present her Apples of Youth.

As his Divine life progressed, Ondhollr found it increasingly difficult to visit Idunn, the quiet and sweet First Class Goddess often on a mission on behalf of the Almighty.

Basking in the fond memory, a beautiful and contagious smile graces his features, that makes both younger Goddesses giggle.

Ondhollr gently chides the girls, reminding them that a sacred ceremony is taking place nearby and that it is not proper to make fun of a God their senior while officially tutoring them.

The three Deities walk silently to the magnificent and impossible architecture that houses the Halls of the Academy, and once inside, the younger Goddesses, still a bit embarrassed, separate each heading towards their respective seminars.

Ondhollr lingers a bit watching the girls walk away, thinking that maybe he's been too severe with them.

His main thought focus shifts to the Mortal Plane, the subject of his advanced academic studies, about to begin.

Fascinated with the intensity and passion with which Mortals live their extremely short lifespan, Ondhollr_ knows _that his vocation will be for a commercial, second category license.

To be able to interact with the Human Mortals, to help them, and grant wishes to those deemed worthy by the Ultimate Force.

Beaming with pride, Ondhollr heads towards the lecture hall for his first lesson, from which older deities, appearing to be in their late teens, are calmly walking out.

Reading the seals on their foreheads, Ondhollr pauses in admiration and respect for the Third class Gods, Commercial License leisurely pacing by, and smiles at the thought that he too, one day…

All too soon, Ondhollr's last lecture ends, and the God follows his fellows filing out of the hall.

Ondhollr trades glances for an instant with a much younger God standing next to the Lecture hall's majestic doors that he just left instants before, and carries on; a sense of déjà vu once more hits him, but it fades an instant later, when turning back to look, he just finds there's no one standing by the doors.

This is it; in a beat of an eye, an immeasurable time has passed, and a Divine Being matured from birth to adulthood.

Smiling, the Third Class God carries on, until a melodious Voice, almost whispering, calls him.

"_Ondhollr, God Third class, Limited license, second category in Training please report to the Main Administrative Building Complex to Peorth, Goddess First Class, First Category."_

Silently, a dimensional door opens in front of the young God, inviting him in, and moments later, Ondhollr finds himself at the base of Heaven's largest building, the one housing Creation's most powerful computer, Yggdrasil.

Many busy Gods and Goddesses zip by at high speed, not even noticing him walking in the massive hallway, searching for the Top Executive Goddess he's supposed to meet.

The floor is actually a force field separating the hall from a dimension eons and galaxies away; below his feet, a deep blue sky with pure white clouds gives the impression of walking on air. Not that _that_ would be uncommon, among the Gods…

At the center of the building there's a lake, larger than any sea, from which the physical bulk of Yggdrasil's tree emerges and elevates upwards to be lost in the multidimensional expanse of the Building. The young God stops to behold a sight beyond any mortal imagination, contemplating silently.

His training almost finished, soon Ondhollr will be able to apply for a full time License, possibly in the Second category, to finally find his place in Creation and serve the Great Design as best as he can.

And maybe… just maybe, even aspire to host an Angel… Sighing, Ondhollr leans against the handrail bordering the immeasurable face of the waters from which in the distance the colossal tree trunk of Yggdrasil looms.

…

"Ondhollr? Ondhollr!"

The young God turns to see a scantily clad and beautiful Goddess, with long brown hair and amber eyes, a blue diamond on her forehead and cheeks flying towards him.

Recognizing the Goddess calling him, in an instant, Ondhollr is down on one knee, head bowed in respect.

"M-Milady!"

"Oh, come on, stand up, _mon chou_", a hint of amusement and mischief in her joyful voice, "such deference is out of place between us."

"But… Lady Peorth, protocol…"

"_Betises_! And, it's just Peorth, to you. Here, let me see you! _Sacre Bleu_, have you grown!"

Ondhollr squirms in embarrassment, finding himself at the center of not only Peorth's attention, but of every other nearby Deity as well. Chuckles, smiles and stray thoughts picked up from nearby minds make him flush.

"Come on, now… let's go somewhere more _privée_"

Peorth laughs at Ondhollr's embarrassed reaction and pauses. She studies the younger God's features, and her demeanor sways momentarily, as a strong emotion knits her brow; feeling her eyes prick, Peorth forces the tears back and fiercely embraces the younger God, whispering almost to herself: "How I missed you, _mon Cher_. It is so good to see you again, as a God, no less."

Trying to recover from Peorth's unexplainably warm welcome, Ondhollr manages to stammer "but… but, we never met before, Milady, I… only attended a few of your seminars, and from afar, and…"

"Later, now allow me to show you off, my handsome!"

Grabbing Ondhollr's elbow and pulling him to her side, Peorth starts walking towards one of the many side entrances to the Main Administrative Building, overwhelming the flustered and deeply uncomfortable younger God with a crushing and constant stream of small talk, occasionally stopping Gods and Goddesses and presenting the younger God to them – always in a very, very embarrassing way…

…

Sitting in a very provocative pose on a couch hovering midair in her office, bursting with roses in full bloom, Peorth smiles and enjoys herself immensely watching Ondhollr, on a chair in front of her, embarrassedly fiddling with his fingers and hopelessly fighting the impulse to lower his gaze from her beautiful face to her… assets.

"If I didn't want to be looked at, I wouldn't dress like this, Ondhollr. Like what you see?"

"I… I… really don't understand, Milady, it's like…"

"Don't mention it, _mon Cher_, there's a reason if in my Field duty days as Commercial, Second Category, I volunteered to be the Goddess in charge to fulfill… _love and passion_ Mortal desires and wishes… on Earth. But, enough of pleasantries, I imagine you are curious as to why you have been summoned before me."

Peorth breaths deeply and changes voice, a tone of absolute authority lining every word, a compelling voice that forces the young God to fall on one knee.

"Ondhollr, God Third class, Limited license, second category in Training, you are formally invited to attend a private hearing with His Holy Representative, scheduled to be held in Elysium, three full periods from this moment."

All color drains from Ondhollr's face and panic flashes in his hazel eyes.

Peorth waves the God to stand, and he manages to stammer, "The… The Almighty's Holy Representative? But, I…"

Her raised hand silences him instantly.

"Oh, calm down, _Cheri_, it's not like you don't know her, after all", Peorth giggles mischievously, "she's your mom."

"Mother is _The Almighty's Holy Representative?"_

"Oh, yeah. Just temporary, mind you; Auntie Freyja is on a mission. It's such a chore, you know… Can I offer you some Mead?"

* * *

><p>…<p>

Short, I know. And awfully, awfully late. I'll try to make it up to the very few readers that graced me with their Favs! Keep em reviews coming!


	7. Chapter 7

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.2**

By Pizzigri

_Chapter 7! Wow!_

**_Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide._**

**_OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!_**

…

**_Apocálypsis._**

Peorth watches Ondhollr unhurriedly walk out of her office. The Goddess can feel his hidden confusion and concern.

_Punaise! With my prescience regarding him sealed, all I can do is stand here, worrying like an old nun about what could or not be, and simply wait on the sideline until everything runs its course… If only… _Shaking slowly her head and closing her eyes, Peorth reclines against her chair and stretches sensually, making the levitating chair spin around once.

Sometime later, the Goddess curls up leaning forward, her gaze lost in space, and still sitting, crosses her legs and rests her chin on one hand in deep thought.

_Oh, Belldandy…_

She nervously shifts her posture, her lips tight in a thin line, and slowly brings her slightly trembling right hand to cover her eyes, as sorrow and regret clutches her heart and a single, luminous drop of blinding light gently rolls along her cheek and falls down.

…

Elysium, also known as The Elysian Fields, is located within a secluded and almost inaccessible plane of existence just below those in which Heaven resides. A place of secrets, its access is restricted almost as much as access to the Administrative superstructures; but, even if its access would have been freely granted, most Celestial Beings would avoid journeying upon the infinite Fields.

If nothing else, because to everyone except to First Class Deities, Yggdrasil's Permalink is disabled there.

_It is said that the souls of those mortals Chosen by the Ultimate Force finally find their sempiternal rest there. So, this is a mystery within a mystery; not only The Almighty wants me to have a private hearing with His Holy Representative, Himself also wants the hearing to be held in Elysium, instead of the usual Divine Committee Halls._

Ondhollr allows a part of his mind to wander, and another tries to analyze rationally every possible reason for such a hearing. Lady Peorth has been adamant in disclosing even the smallest hint, opting instead for small talk… lots, and lots of trivial, small talk! In the end, Lady Peorth was incredibly friendly and warm, sometimes even openly flirting with the young God. Ondhollr left the Goddess' office with his mind in turmoil.

His routine and schedule disrupted, and every one of his responsibilities cancelled for the next three full periods, until the private hearing with His Holy Representative, for the very first time in his whole life Ondhollr finds himself without a definite purpose driving him for the immediate future.

No chores, no seminars or classes, no nothing.

Plus, the young God visited the Main Administrative Building Complex only a handful of times, and very, very briefly; never by himself.

Access is restricted, and for a very minor Third class, Limited license Divinity as himself –insignificant, really, his First Class mother notwithstanding – Heaven's Sancta Sanctorum is, if an expression like this could be used to describe the sentiment of a Celestial Being, a mythical place.

But, specifically to Ondhollr, it is the focus and goal of his life. Besides all the rest, this is also where the various Relief Offices are located, and where, in a reasonably near future, he will be performing his Divine duty, commissioned with a full commercial, second category License.

So, he just walks around the immense and intricate structure housing Yggdrasil and most of the administrative offices, his eyes full of wonder as he takes in the somewhat overwhelming, even for a Celestial Being, immeasurable magnificence.

After a full cycle wandering alone, as no one questioned his presence in such high security areas – not even a single Cherub or Valkyrie, which are entrusted with the security of all of Heaven, especially in neuralgic places like the Admin Complex – let alone a God or Goddess - a thought emerges prominently in his mind.

_Too much time._

Time is a complex thing, in Heaven. It does not flow uniformly, in some places it flows incredibly slowly, in other much faster. There are beings that can actually control the flow of their timestream! And others that could control time altogether. Like the Norns, for example. Of course, there are safeguards, and in many instances, these – and many other - powers are relinquished to Yggdrasil's control.

The young God candidly thinks how nice it would be to be able to speed up _his_ time, and shorten his wait… while a small smile graces his handsome features.

…

The view from the Third Bridge, a corridor vaulting across a secondary tower and the main Yggdrasil complex, spanning through time, space and many different planes of existence, is absolutely stunning, and Ondhollr pauses frequently along it to behold the display outside the vast crystal windows.

About halfway the bridge, as the young God pauses enraptured once more to gaze the outside view, a halo of immense power envelopes him, streaming by like a warm wind and saturating everything.

Startled, Ondhollr freezes on the spot, and slowly turns to see who is radiating such power. Even more astonishing, he suddenly finds himself alone in the whole bridge, deserted of every other Celestial being.

Except one. Walking slowly and elegantly on the red path in the center of the expansive corridor, her lonely presence warping the very space surrounding her, there's an amazingly beautiful dark skinned Goddess, with a cascade of white-as-snow long hair flowing freely on her back, clad in a violet divine uniform.

On her forehead, a blue, five pointed star sigil. Many different jewels adorn her body – limiters, the young God realizes – and a halo of shimmering energy envelopes her.

Ondhollr stares at the magnificent vision, his mouth open, overcome and stunned beyond words, both from her beauty and the incredible pressure of her Power. The young God stares a bit too much, as the white maned Goddess stops, and slowly turns her head in his direction. Her violet pupils flash for an instant, as they gaze in each other's eyes.

Time stops.

When Ondhollr manages to recover, the Goddess has silently passed, and he dazedly follows her smooth gait as she slowly disappears in the distance. Moments – or ages - later, the bridge again is busy with Gods, Goddesses, Cherubs and other Celestial Beings. Only then, he realizes that he wasn't able to identify the Goddess, not even her class, a level that's way above and beyond anything he ever faced before.

Writing off the extraordinary encounter – this is, after all, the fundamental core of Heaven - and resuming his apparently aimless wandering, Ondhollr sighs. _Two more cycles until the Hearing._

_…_

**Elysium.**

The moment has come.

Thrud, a Second Class Valkyrie, awaits Ondhollr at the Elysium Gate. She nods curtly, and just as efficiently, turns to lead the way through the gate, the young God silently following.

On the other side of the threshold, floating just inches above the short golden grass blades, Ondhollr finds Peorth. "Ready?", she huskily questions.

Shrugging, he simply replies, "As much as I'll ever be", and flashes her with a sincere smile.

The older Goddess smiles in return. "_Trés bien, alors…_ we'd better be on our way", Peorth replies, descending gracefully to touch the ground, and heading on a white path that appeared in front of them.

All too soon, a great oak tree emerges from the endless fields of golden grass, on top of a very gently sloping hill. All around, an incredibly beautiful range of white topped mountains are discernible in the distance, with a perfect turquoise and deep blue sky, rarely dotted with pure white clouds.

Idunn is waiting, floating midair under the immense tree, her golden mane flowing behind her all the way to her naked feet. She's wrapped in a simple white dress, and a massive Archangel, four times her size, stands guard at her side with his muscled arms crossed over his broad chest. Peorth leans against the tree, while Thrud's small Valkyrie squad discreetly surround the group of Deities, facing them with one knee down on the ground.

Ondhollr slowly walks in front of Idunn, awed by her appearance, and kneels, bowing his head in respect.

Idunn has a serious expression, and her viridian eyes are suspiciously shiny.

Her voice does not waver.

"Ondhollr, my son. First of all, a long time has passed since we last met, and I have not since expressed to you how proud I am of your achievements. You have grown beyond and above my expectations. And I am sure your destiny is to become a magnificent God, strong and just."

The young God silently nods, joy and pride filling his heart, delighted of his Mother's praise.

"The reason we are gathered here in Elysium is that Our Lord the Almighty has decreed that you are ready to receive a… gift. I will not hide the fact that I have pleaded to the Almighty to act as His Holy Representative to be able to personally celebrate this ceremony."

Idunn turns to the Archangel at her side.

"Auriel, dear, please present the Angel Egg to us."

Surprise and excitement briefly flashes over the young God's features.

"An… An Angel, Mother?"

Ondhollr stares at the tiny egg in the strong and calloused white hands of the severe and motionless Archangel, his eyes and gaze of pure ice, boring into the young God as if weighing his soul.

"Yes, Ondhollr. But, this is not 'an' Angel. We find ourselves in a… peculiar and quite unique situation; this Angel already had a host. She… She was a First class Goddess."

The young God cringes in pain, feeling the grief that radiates from his Mother, and understands the First Class Goddess she mentioned is no more.

Finding his voice again, Ondhollr weakly tries to object, "Excuse me Mother, but how can this be! If the host's essence returned to the Ultimate Force, then its Angel would also dissipate! How…"

"This Angel has been commanded by its host to separate and return to egg form, mere instants before the host died."

The young God clenches his fists, and lowers his gaze to the ground, knowing the nature of the unbreakable connection binding an Angel to its host.

"It would mean this Angel is eternally suffering from her host's death! W-why…"

Idunn gently places her index finger over her son's lips.

"Sshh. None of that my son, the host of this Angel did so out of love and whatever _his_ heart suggested was right. Please, once you accept this gift, all will be clear, and you _will_ understand."

"But, M-mother…"

Cupping with her hands Ondhollr's face, Idunn smiles gently and shushes him.

"You will love this Angel. It will be a part of you, and once within your soul, it will be as if an old friend returned to you. I _know_. Please, my son."

Calmed by her mother's words and compassion, Ondhollr relaxes and smiles timidly.

"Yes, Mother. I apologize."

Idunn steps back, and her features become more severe.

"Ondhollr, God Third class, Limited license, second category in Training, you have been granted, and are presented with, an Angel egg. This may happen only once in the eternal life of a Deity, and you have been chosen to carry _this_ Angel. But, it must be freely and unconditionally accepted. Ondhollr. Do you accept this Angel?"

The young God slowly nods once, and opens his mouth.

Idunn allows the tiny egg to hover gently from her cupped hands to land on his tongue. As soon as the God swallows the Angel egg, Idunn's resolve fails, her right hand gently caressing Ondhollr's cheek as tears well up in her eyes.

Ondhollr's smile falters, seeing his Mother tears streaking her face.

"Mother? What's wrong?"

…

An instant later, everything turns black.

Sparks, then a flash of white. Black spots dance wildly before his eyes, then everything turns upside down; it's like crashing a speeding motorcycle against a brick wall.

A sense of suffocation. The need for air! Breathe, hard!

_What… what the hell?!_

Keiichi opens his eyes, and immediately regrets it. Impossible shapes and geometries, incredibly vivid colors and shades of light that are beyond human description, assault his eyesight, a sense of vertigo as space appears to fold into itself and back in a kaleidoscope of physical impossibilities.

And closing his eyes again doesn't fix things.

His sense of touch reports contradicting sensations of hot coolness and fresh warmth, ice and fire, the gentle caressing of wind and the heat of barely contained power… Scents, of lilac and cherries, apples and sandalwood, evolving into something almost unbearably inebriating and sweet… but it's the sounds that push his mind over the edge, the purest notes all vibrating at the same time, harsh and sweet, a melody no mere mortal will ever be able to conceive or even acknowledge…

"Time", as in a subjective and constant sense of perceived continuity loses significance and coherence, fragmenting in a single multitude of separate timestreams.

Instantly, Keiichi's mind boggles with an overflow of information from a number of senses he didn't suspect could exist.

Cupping his ears with his hands and shutting his eyes tightly (but are there physically real hands, ears, eyes?), Keiichi screams desperately, curling in a shivering ball, his confused and overwhelmed mind refusing to cope with the impossible and on the verge of annihilation… Until an incredibly powerful, serene and soothing presence embraces his soul, warmth radiating into his very being, and a commanding yet gentle voice inside his mind communicates without words.

_Easy. Take it easy._

Keiichi calms down, guided by this firm voice, still not recognizing its intonation.

_Open your mind. Allow your Divine nature to help you._

Ever so slowly, Keiichi manages to relax, taking deep breaths (is this really air? Or is it only an illusion?) and dares to open an eye. Glittering forms made of light, vaguely anthropomorphic shapes, surround him. The Universe seems to shine all around, and through, him; stars and galaxies compenetrate and interweave in a latticework of multiple dimensions.

Celestial senses reconnect to his mind, and it is as if a portal opens towards the Infinite. All the different and clashing time streams click falling back in sync, a symphony of perfection that is in tune with his mind.

Keiichi slowly tries to pull himself up, but the sense of gravity seems completely off; he finally manages to sit against something that he somewhat recognizes as a completely out-of-scale tree trunk.

Trying to translate and process all the information so that it would make sense to his merely mortal experiences, the young God gazes into his hand, slowly flexing his fingers and turning it to appreciate every smallest detail.

"Welcome back, Keiichi. Or, should I say Ondhollr?"

Keiichi snaps towards the voice, immediately recognizing it.

"P-Peorth? What is going on? Where… where are we?"

The black haired Goddess sighs with her eyes turned to the sky.

"It's a long story, _mon ami_…" she replies, drawing a circle with her hand in the air.

The young God slowly scans his surroundings, as totally conflicting memories overlap in his mind, until his eyes rest upon the silently moping Idunn, her hands over her mouth, her delicate frame cowering behind the hulking Archangel, protectively standing between the Goddess of Youth and Keiichi, his ice glare still firmly set in the young God's eyes.

Memories of thousands upon thousands of years of a life passed as a God, as Idunn's child, collide with the brief flash of Keiichi's life as a Mortal on Midgard.

"Oh, my GOD! Ah, I, I mean, Goddess! Uh… I… M… Mo-ah, Mother?"

As Idunn winces, Peorth can't hide her amusement for the expression that Keiichi chooses for his outburst.

Beautiful and slender ivory hands glide over Keiichi's neck, meeting on his chest above his heart, in a warm and loving embrace. Choking on his own emotion, the Young God turns to gaze into twin pools of liquid ice.

Enlightenment dawns upon Keiichi's mind, and a wild smile appears on his face.

"Arclight! It's you!"

A silent voice enthusiastically replies, the warmth and love radiating from the Angel deep in Keiichi's soul bringing the young God on the verge of tears.

Keiichi turns his attention back to Idunn. His divine memories supply a host of information on the Goddess that is his Divine Mother, and Keiichi cannot avoid being awed, overwhelmed and humbled by the importance of the Deity of Youth in Heaven's Pantheon.

"M-mother… Can… Can I…"

The young God offers a quivering hand to Idunn. She cautiously approach Keiichi, wariness in her eyes.

"Ondhollr? Are you still…?" Idunn's voice fails her, as the sentence completes in her mind, _…are you still my son?_

An instant later, the lithe frame of the Goddess of Youth is engulfed in Keiichi's embrace. "Mother, I could never forget you. Yes, I _still_ am Ondhollr, and Keiichi as well. I love you, mom."

Idunn cries freely, but a smile graces her beautiful features.

"The Almighty sealed my precognition, my son, and I could not access or query any information on how you would react to being reunited with Arclight, and the whole set of mortal memories your Angel kept in custody. I was so afraid I would lose you all over again!"

"Lose me _again_, Mother?", Keiichi replies, stepping back.

"Yes, my beloved. Sinthgunt… Arclight's host… she was my daughter."

Keiichi feels stunned by the revelation, and by all the possible implications. His sense of loss grows exponentially, as the concept that the fallen Goddess could have been his sister explodes in his mind.

And then guilt, and regret. Remorse for not being able to do more, due to being… a mere mortal, when it happened. A whirlwind of considerations, thoughts, hypothesis and speculations each following the other. His Angel interrupts the mental Domino effect, by simply stating, without words, _It was not your fault. _Arclight's voice is so strong that it shakes the young God's conscience, but the image of a curled up and vulnerable young girl bleeding pure light dying in front of him cannot fade.

Keiichi manages to again raise his eyes to meet his Divine Mother's gentle gaze.

"I am so sorry, Mother. I have known her for so little time, and I could not do anything, anything to save her. I…"

"You have done enough, my son. The mere fact you are here now, before me, fills my heart with joy. But, this is not the time to talk about my beloved Sinthgunt. You need to adjust, and end your training. I'm entrusting Lady Peorth as your mentor for the near future; please, visit my Apple Orchard soon, my son. I will offer fine Mead and Cider to quench your thirst and an alcove to rest your Divine manifestation. Farewell, my son."

The Hearing ends, and following a surprisingly brisk farewell, Idunn with her burly Archangel disappear.

The young God, with the memories of both a human mortal and a Celestial Being, is still visibly staggering, temporarily unable to completely adapt to the dual nature of his mind. While Ondhollr's Divine memories span millennia, they are dull and repetitive despite all their infinite magnificence, whereas Keiichi's memories of the brief life spent as a mortal may only span a couple decades, but are blindingly bright and intense as a single dazzling star shining against the immensity of a deep Grey sky.

Keiichi walks unsteadily between Thrud and Peorth, supported by both Goddesses. Arclight mentally embraces his consciousness, gently guiding it, gradually introducing the extremely limited experience of his mortal senses to the immense capacities of a God, and preserving his sanity at the same time.

Keiichi realizes that The Almighty, in His Infinite Wisdom and Knowledge, required the Hearing to be held in Elysium because it would have been too great a risk to allow Keiichi's mortal memories to awake in the mind of a God connected to Yggdrasil. This way, the secondary shock of "being connected" can be handled by itself; and, with the help of both a First Class tutor, and an experienced Angel. The young God will reestablish the Permalink as soon as he clears the Gate.

Slowly, Keiichi manages to gain sufficient control of his Celestial body and senses, to be able to stand and walk alone.

The journey back to the Gate is a silent and introspective one. Arclight retreated in a secluded part of his soul, literally allowing Keiichi's conscience a sense of discretion.

His mind replays endlessly the last hours lived on Earth, the memory so vivid that he can easily recall smells, details and sounds around him. As if the events happened mere instants ago.

Peorth, Keiichi and their small Valkyrie escort pause in front of the Gate threshold. The Young God decides that there is something he has to do before returning to Heaven and reconnecting to Yggdrasil's Permalink.

Keiichi gazes at Peorth with an intensity that belies his station in regards to the First Class Goddess in front of him.

"Peorth… There's, like, a gazillion questions I'd like to ask you. But, right now, I need the answer only to one… Please."

"An answer to what question, _Mon ami_?", Peorth replies, already knowing perfectly what the young God will ask her.

"Where is Belldandy?"

…

* * *

><p>Note.<p>

There it is! At least it didn't take a year to update…

_Apocálypsis_, here, is meant to be interpreted in the Ancient Greek and New Testament literary sense: "ἀποκάλυψις", or, a Revelation.


	8. Chapter 8

**Keiichi's faith**

**Rel1.4**

By Pizzigri

_Chapter 8! WARNING._

_This is an intense chapter. It even may be disturbing for some readers, although it never reaches an M rating. This is a nodal point in the story, so it is slightly longer than previous chapters._

_One last thing, I'd like to thank HuuskerDu for the help, beta reading and precious suggestions that helped me shape the chapter as it is._

**_Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide._**

**_OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!_**

* * *

><p>…<p>

**Another time… another place.**

…

_"I have chosen my path. Beginning now, I take this matter in my own hands, and will pursue my mission to the fullest extent of my powers. But, dearest sisters, I cannot do it alone. Are you with me?"_

Urd watches in numb and unbelieving fascination Belldandy's hand reaching her left earring, and unclasping it.

"Belldandy, what are you doing…"

Before Urd manages to step towards her younger sister, it is done.

Belldandy's melodious voice softly fills the air, as tiny sparks glitter all over her body and dress, and the gold earring shatters silently and disintegrates into nothingness.

The air surrounding the temple seems to ripple with immense power, warping the very fabric of reality around the three Norns.

Clouds disappear in the sky, the backlash echoing in the space above the whole city.

A glowing halo envelopes the Norn of Present. A blast of the purest white light washes away her dress, replacing it with a white and blue Divine Combat Uniform. As Power flows around her body, Her sigils morph into blue ellipses encompassing a circle, and clear white wings spanning three times the Goddess' height again extend from her back.

Billionths of a second have passed, and with her full powers unsealed, the Goddess reaches for the Knowledge - and immense sadness fills Her Soul, as the path taken by Keiichi's essence and its definitive fate reveals itself, confirming Peorth's Verbum, and her most secret fears.

_Lost._

_Keii-kun…_

Cleansed of all his memories, emotions and traits, Keiichi's Immortal Soul dissolved, merging with the Ultimate Force.

It is as if a glass of water blended with the Ocean… or her tears rolled along her cheeks in a raging Monsoon, irreversibly fusing together, forever.

But, there's a Way.

And, for it to work, the Three Norns must reclaim their True Purpose, beyond Eternity, Infinity and Time itself.

Belldandy's tears fall freely in her conflicted Mind, upon a decision which rips her very Soul apart, but no outward sign of her immense grief is visible. Her Choice made, the Norn of the Present irrevocably commits herself.

Belldandy levitates, and as soon as she stops quietly singing in her Celestial voice, all that's left is only a deafening silence.

She opens her eyes to look down to a frowning Urd and a terrified Skuld.

Turning to the younger Goddess, Belldandy gently smiles, her voice again seems to fill the air, drowning everything, and resonating almost to a molecular level: "Skuld, my dear little sister. Are you with me? I need your help, for this to work."

Urd realizes that Belldandy is using a strong compelling voice spell. Skuld doesn't stand a chance; unprepared, her pupils widen, a shiver briefly quakes her small frame and then she smiles back, charmed and relaxed, nodding with her head, opening her arms in an embracing gesture, with her hands open, palms towards her older sister.

Urd barely manages to pull up a protective spell around herself, in part aided by her double ancestry.

Magnificent in all her full, unsealed Power and Glory, Belldandy smiles to her older sister, the Norn of the Past.

"And you, Urd? Are you also with me?"

The older Goddess takes nervously a step back, crossing her arms and tilting her head to the side, slowly and carefully replying in a steady voice, trying to buy time, "How about you explain what you intend to do with all your limiters removed, first."

"Oh! Of course. I want to unseal and reclaim our full powers as Norns over Time from Yggdrasil, to rewind the timeflow to before Sinthgunt's death. This way, I can save her, too, and everything that has happened, will never have happened."

Urd knits her brow in surprise.

"You can't be serious. We both know that it won't work! Even combined, Our powers are limited _by_ the Ultimate Force to the timeflow in the lower five dimensions, we have no way to reach all eleven dimensional planes and synchronize them all to a previous state! Neither Keiichi nor Sinthgunt can be restored this way, and even then, Heaven will remain untouched by the rewind… To do so will turn time on Earth back all right, but all you'll achieve is a soulless body in a vegetative state, and Father's -and _mother's_ – ire to deal with!"

Belldandy's voice lowers somewhat, becoming softer with a hint of shyness in her tone.

"I… want to stall the Ultimate Force by bringing down Yggdrasil with a root level DoS attack, using my basecode to bypass all firewalls, then repartition and reboot the central mainframe kernels completely. This way, we will have absolute control over Time, in every dimension of the Multiverse. Just as… as Celestine attempted… only, I'll succeed."

Her eyes wide in horror, Urd screams "What?!"

"Please, Urd. Take my hand now, and join me."

Shaking her head, Urd takes another step back, feeding more power to her shield, worry all over her face: _Where the hell are you, Lind?!_

"But, don't you understand, Bell! If you _do_ manage to bring down Yggdrasil to the point that it will be completely offline, Nidhogg will collapse as well, and Doublet will crash!"

Belldandy raises her arm towards Urd, offering her open hand, while her eyes sparkle and a wave of irresistible power washes over the oldest Norn, the energy briefly visible as a glowing golden halo flaring around the edges of the older Norn's shield.

"I am well aware and concerned of that, Urd. I do not have Celestine's Goal, as it will be only temporary, a microsecond to a couple seconds at worst, before the Ultimate Force kicks back in, but we would have already rewritten _all_ of reality by then. We would be the only ones to actually _remember_. Trust me, I have _everything_ under control."

Skuld walks to Belldandy's side, her clothing morphing slowly to a Divine Combat Uniform, flowing into a battle stance. The young Goddess seems relaxed and smiles brightly, but her eyes implore for _help_.

It's the Little One's eyes that hit her the hardest.

Struggling to resist the onslaught, as layer upon layer of her magic shield shatters one after the other, Urd feels utterly betrayed.

Belldandy disappears, and all she can see in her sister's place is a tall, magnificent woman, standing alone in front of a setting sun, her regal and proud figure silhouetted by the light dominating the immense plain, her dark bronze skin lusciously glinting from the sun's glancing rays, her pure white hair literally glowing as it flares around her.

Sad and piercing violet eyes glow against the sunset.

Urd feels the strong arms of an immense and incredibly powerful stranger circle her tiny body. For an instant, she's again a frail little girl, the betrayal delving deep in her soul like a million blades running through her heart, as her familiar inner energy seeps away, fading and being forcedly replaced by a foreign one.

She can hear herself desperately screaming for her mommy, as she fades away in a white flash. Tears well up in the Norns' eyes.

Her resolve crumbles into oblivion as her protective spell evaporates and Urd continues to scream silently in the prison of her mind.

Abandoned, betrayed, by her most loved one - once again.

The Norn of the Past's body shivers and dazedly takes a step towards her sister, one hand to her head, the other weakly reaching for Belldandy.

…

"I will not allow it", a new voice calmly states.

Flashing across the Temple's grounds, a white streak thunderously crashes into Urd before her hand touches Belldandy's, sending the silver maned Goddess against the Temple's main building.

As Urd disappears in a massive explosion of splinters and dust, and the whole building collapses over the Goddess, Lind stands poised in a combat stance in the same spot previously occupied by the oldest Norn, facing a frowning Belldandy, her battleaxe held at an angle at her side, ready to pounce in an instant.

"Belldandy, Goddess first class, unlimited: cross your arms over your head, kneel and surrender, or else know my wrath."

"Lind. As always, your timing is perfect", Belldandy sadly remarks, almost to herself.

"You know that you're no match for me, Belldandy. Yield!"

Belldandy tilts her head to the side, casually noting, "But, Lind, you have not removed your limiters, yet. And you're still holding your axe…"

The proud Valkyrie inwardly flinches, knowing Bell called her bluff. Instants ago, Yggdrasil had denied her request to remove her limiters and had Lind been any other Valkyrie, maybe she could have disobeyed knowing she had to face Belldandy. However, being His chosen, Lind has no option left, but to stall the Norn of the Present as much as possible, at least until reinforcements arrive, or He deems necessary to intervene, whichever comes first. As such, she instantly attacks with her full – but restrained - power, a shockwave of energy leveling what was left of the temple.

Lind, even restrained by her limiters, is a force to be reckoned with. Her second-in-command, herself a First Class, finds impossible to enter the fray, and all she can do is order the rest of the Wing to form a perimeter and contain as much as possible the rippling shockwaves from each impact.

Wave upon wave of power pound the temple's wreckage into the ground, and as the battle rages over her head, under tons of rubble, Urd comes round.

Exhausted and with her energy completely depleted, her eyes open to the darkness, a huge wooden beam pinning her body against the floor. She finds herself staring at the small space left between the beam and a big chunk of concrete and masonry, everything else buried under bricks and other debris, desperately wishing for a Magnum size bottle of sake.

_When has everything gotten so out of hand? When has everything fallen apart… Kei dead, my own sister turned against me, about to destroy and rebuild reality, and in the process, bringing forth Ragnarok…_

Never, not even in her wildest dreams, Urd would have believed for one second that her younger sister Belldandy, Norn of the Present, would have taken away her free will with a Compelling spell.

Urd painfully tries to move, to lift the beam that makes breathing of her material body so difficult.

_What the hell… I'm so weak._

"Then, become stronger, sweetheart."

"M… mother…?"

"That's _mommy_, for you, baby", a miniaturized version of Hild hovering a couple of inches before Urd's eyes warmly coos.

"Don't just lie down in the dust like that, Baby. Come on, just reach and touch it, you've done it before. Access your birthright powers, accept them."

"C-can't. I've seen what that does, _Mother_. It turns me into a monster, a Demon. It turns me into something too much like _you_."

"You make it sound like a bad thing, baby… I'm offended", mini-Hild exclaims, crossing her tiny arms, closing her eyes and turning her pouting head away from Urd in mocking disdain.

"It _is_ a bad thing. A-all this… is your fault. Because… you protected that bastard. I'll never forgive you… never switch sides. I-"

"Then, don't. You do not need to turn, dear. Only a few weeks ago, in Niflheim, you've overpowered your little half-sister's doomsday device, using one-hundred-percent Demonic power. Cut off from your Divine permalink, entirely hollowed out of Divine powers, all alone in the very heart of the Land of Demons, and _still_, you saved yourself and the tarty brat- and you don't look one bit a demon to me." – _yet_, Hild very privately thinks to herself.

"It… it took every ounce of my will to… rein in the power, then. What if I fail? What if I destroy Earth? Or-"

"Not an issue. Control comes with experience, and you've gained a lot of it. You'll do just fine"

_And the more you use Demonic energy, the more you'll become a Demon –or Ascend, my baby._

"Even if so, know that I will not accept nor forgive you, Mother. I… cannot risk it all… I will always be a Goddess, as much as it hurts. As much as I… I…" - _love you, Mom, _Urd thinks closing her eyes. _Even if you betrayed me, I can't help loving you._

"The choice is yours, daughter." Hild smiles a Cheshire's cat smile, and silently disappears.

One last attempt to free herself, and Urd notices a blue glow faintly shimmering around the wrist of the hand that she's using to push the beam away… the truth is painfully obvious: Lind in a split second restrained her Divine power, surely to remove a potential opponent from the battlefield in case Belldandy's compelling spell had full effect. The Norn of the Past cannot hold a grudge to her Valkyrie friend, she would have done the same in her place. But, because of this…

_Lind, you've made the choice for me._

Urd clenches her teeth and concentrates, reaching inside herself for the dark fire relegated in the deepest and blackest recess of her heart. She can feel World of Elegance cower in fear once again in her soul, and forces herself to ignore it.

A red glow surrounds her body, while the blue triangle Seal on the Goddess' forehead morphs into a violet five pointed star.

…

In the subdued darkness of her Throne Hall, in Niflheim, Hild's eyes flash ominously, as a black fire suddenly and quietly surges, expanding violently in a shock wave from her body to disappear an instant later, her lips curling in a dazzling smile. Every Demon in her vicinity shivers in blind terror at the sight.

The Queen of Hell closes her eyes in bliss. _I felt that, honey. I love you, too._

…

"_Now_ I'm pissed", a deep voice growls from the ruins of the downed temple, an instant before the rubble vaporizes.

"Lind, stand back and perform damage containment, while I take care of family business."

"Urd, stay out of-" Lind's words die in her mouth as soon as Urd emerges from the cloud of settling dust, calmly walking towards Belldandy. The Norn's slit eyes flash in her direction, and Lind cannot stop a shiver in recognizing _that_ cold gaze – and a five pointed star on Urd's forehead! Immense Demonic energy washes against the Valkyrie's body, wave after wave, making her feel dizzy and slightly sick.

"You-you gave in to your Demon side!"

"Nahhh, just got a free power-up. Now, move over."

This time, the immense Power flowing in her body, although exhilarating and heady, seems to be mostly under control. This time, Urd can actually _recognize _her Sisters and Lind, her mind, although 'off', still feels as her own and with supreme effort, she manages to rein in both stray energy and leaking Lightning.

A passing thought forces itself across her Mind, before placing all her undivided attention to her younger sister.

_Could Mom – Mother be right? Could it be?_

Completely ignoring Lind, slowly retreating maintaining a very careful and guarded defensive stance, Belldandy stares at her older sister with sadness in her eyes, her arms limp along her sides, standing in a non-threatening posture. Urd isn't fooled even for an instant, knowing full well the Norn of the Present's power and capabilities.

However, the Norn of the Past' eyes and voice become softer, losing the edge, as she stops in front of her sister.

"Bell… please, stand down. We can still work this out. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure for how much time I'll actually be able to keep control of myself in this state… so, power down and secure back your limiters."

"Urd, I want Keiichi back."

"So do I! Do you think I didn't love him? That his passing didn't _carve_ my heart out, as well? He… he was a _brother_ to me! But this…" Urd exclaims, her right arm moving in a wide arc in front of her, "…you cannot trade the whole _multidimensional reality_ timestream coherence for one mortal! Without even knowing what happened, why or who rewrote this timeline continuity!"

The younger Norn visibly gasps, and in that instant Urd realizes she said too much.

"What are you talking about?"

Damning her slip, Urd replies, "There is no accident. This timeline reality has been already rewritten, for an unknown purpose. What happened to Keichii's essence… either he's a 'collateral', or…" Urd hesitates.

"or the true target", Belldandy finishes.

"Yes. And, to do so without Yggdrasil even _noticing_…"

Belldandy for the first time furrows her brow, her features sharp and tense. _It's obvious. So obvious… we always forget that The Ultimate Force is Sentient… Oh, Great Father, Why?_

She shakes her head, her eyes never losing contact with her sister's split irises. Belldandy breathes sharply, and sets her jaw in renewed resolution.

"It does not matter. I will go on, I have no other choice, even if I have to go against our Beloved Father. For the last time, my dearest sister, are you with me?"

"No."

"Then, I am sorry. Please forgive me."

Belldandy reaches for her golden staff, literally creating it from the air in front of her.

Urd focuses her slit eyes on Belldandy. A gentle smile makes her lips part, allowing a glimpse of snow white fangs, her hair weightlessly fluttering in a slow, mesmerizing dance around her.

Dusky light expands from the Norn of the Past's shimmering body, wisps of dark purple and black lightning glitter, arcing all the way to the sky.

Shining like a supernova, yet perfectly visible, Urd spreads both her arms and her black and white wings wide towards her younger sister.

The whole hill disappears beneath the Divine beings, vaporized by the pressure of both Demonic and Divine energy, in a fiery fireball.

Belldandy steels herself and grits her teeth, a scowl slightly warping her beautiful features, deliberately and slowly falling back in a defensive stance, golden staff held at a forty-five degrees in front of her chest, fighting the unbearable pressure effortlessly exerted by her older sister's aura.

The Norn of the Present realizes there can be only one outcome from this confrontation.

Even after having removed every limiter, and even if she were permitted to call upon powers above and beyond her levels… Urd in her present state would still be able to _utterly_ annihilate and erase her existence.

_However, I cannot stop now. I cannot fail you, Keiichi… This is the moment, I've gone against Heaven, Father, and my own blood for you, my Love. Keiichi… I love you._

Impossible odds do not mean anything. A mere mortal showed her that, not long ago.

Belldandy advances, her staff raised and pointed towards her older sister, the end glowing with golden light, in an attempt to subdue the last obstacle in fulfilling her plan.

Urd's only reply is to lick her lips in lustful anticipation of the impending battle. A single tear slides across her cheek, as her hands draw a complex pattern; a six pointed star glows brightly all around the Norns, cleaving a huge wound in the very fabric of reality, swallowing all three Goddesses from Earth's skies to rematerialize them nine hundred miles above the hidden face of the Moon's surface.

…

Back on Earth, the wind just slowed down from the violent rush to fill the void left following the teleport.

Lind collapses to the ground. Her Battle Uniform still pristine white, but torn and frayed.

From the deep blue-violet caused by the atmosphere rarefaction, the sky above the Valkyrie gradually returns to light blue, the humidity condensing into clouds. The low rumbling of thunder and darkening in the distance attests to how troubled the weather has been by the brief confrontation.

Nekomi is still standing. The hill where the Temple stood is a couple thousand feet wide smoking crater now, but Japan and all of its inhabitants still exist. It has taken almost all of her power, but she did it. _Maybe this was my purpose from the beginning of this assignment,_ she thinks as her mind processes the information she grasped from Urd and Belldandy's last words before disappearing.

The fiery Valkyrie wearily glances to the exhausted bodies of the components of her wing, all sprawled about. Only her second in command, herself a First Class, has her eyes open and is standing wearily.

"What now, My Lady?"

Lind answers tiredly, "We wait."

…

**Crime and Punishment!**

…

_"….les a bercés, le long des golfes clairs… Et d'une chanson d'amour, La Mer…"_

Peorth sings languidly, drowning her emotions in the small and intimate shower box - a little bit of Earth she smuggled back in Heaven years ago, and concealed in a corner of her Divine dwelling -, hot water pouring down over her naked body and luscious smooth hair, her eyes closed, trying to wash away the sadness and the tears.

White light envelopes her body and instantly she appears, standing in all her magnificent and glorious nakedness, over Yggdrasil Main System Administrator's chair, in the middle of Creation Supercomputer's immense hall.

"_A bercé mon cœur… pour la viiiie!_"

Silence permeates the air, as the echo of the song's last line fades in the distance.

Realizing she's not in her shower any more, Peorth opens her eyes.

Peorth lingers, a deer caught in the headlights, as small drops glisten suggestively along her beautiful nude body, her hands still raised high to rinse her hair. Many Gods, and more than one Goddess staffing the terminals feel more than giddy staring at her. Some stumble to fetch a handkerchief to stop their nosebleed.

_"Merde."_

Sensing a very powerful presence at her side, the Goddess turns her head, to find a quite flushing Freyja.

"Honey… how about a bit of modesty, hmm? Not that in my youth I've been stranger to _some_… capricious behaviour, but…"

As her leathers cover her body, Peorth blushes, but not of embarrassment.

"Milady, _always_ at your service", the Goddess replies, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry to disturb your rest, sweetie, but your presence is needed here, until He deems it necessary. Ponder very carefully your actions and initiative in the immediate future, honeybun, as we are at a nodal point in the Collective Timestream Flow. And before you ask, no. The Almighty will not grant you a hearing, since he's presently… busy. Yggdrasil"

_"At your command"_

"Unlock Veritas seal communications sieve. Allow full control and comlink access to Admin consoles. Enable Fifth Protocol."

_"Accomplished"_

"Ere, be a good girl and transfer Fifth Protocol live data feed on the main multidimensional strategic display. _Au revoir,_ Hon."

As soon as the powerful Goddess quietly fades away, on the mile wide holographic display a satellite image of Nekomi appears.

_"Syncing with AO local time. Locked. Realtime data: streaming" _

Alarms start to go off at almost every workstation, and suddenly, a bright fireball appears above the Tariki Hongan temple location.

The mood of the whole Divine staff in Yggdrasil's hall sobers up instantly, while Peorth slowly sits down in her chair, moaning.

Blue DivineScript and Runes frantically appear in multiple overlays, a battle grid forms over the depicted area, low alarm tones sound from many workstations. Many Gods and Goddesses raise their hands in warning.

Ex jumps over her workstation, screaming without realizing it, "We have an unregistered Omnipotent class Celestial being on Earth right now!" Other Divine operators stand in panic.

"Goddess First Class Unlimited Belldandy, Norn of the Present, released all her seals and limiters, three minutes ago, AO time! Yggdrasil has not reported the breach until now!"

"First class, special duty wing commander Lind pinpointed within the AO grid and traced!"

Peorth turns to the Goddess, "_Bon!_ Lofn, Establish a comlink with Lind! Request a full status report!"

"Unregistered Celestial Being cannot be identified! Although the signature seems to be Demonic in origin, it's currently unaligned, and its Nidhogg Permalink appears to be disconnected!"

"Why haven't we received advanced warning prescience!"

"They are engaging! Repeat, they are engaging!"

Above the confusion and noise, Yggdrasil calmly and levelly states_, "Dimensional shifting rift violation, full gate breach violation, unauthorized transit in progress, destination: Luna."_

Chrono turns to Peorth, her eyes flashing, "Milady! Commander Lind and her wing is retreating outside dimensional rift boundary and forming an Aegis class III containment construct spell to restrain backlash shockwave, no carrier lines available, comlinks presently unachievable!"

…

Belldandy calmly looks around herself and sadly smiles, returning her gaze upon the totally emotionless face of her elder sister.

The silvery surface of the Moon looms beneath the three Norns, appearing as a giant ghost, and the harsh, unfiltered light from the Sun casts dramatic shadows over the Divine Beings features. The Norns are miles apart, but can see each other as if only mere inches stand between them.

Urd attacks immediately with a beam of energy from her outstretched hand that Belldandy, with great effort, manages to deflect with her staff.

Skuld confusedly watches as a bystander while her older sisters battle among themselves, not knowing what to do and still partially under Belldandy's compelling spell.

She materialized her debugging hammer, and now clutches it to her chest in the manner a child would a teddy bear, blind fear showing in her eyes, paralyzed and unable to flee.

Then, a shield of immense power suddenly appears, separating Urd from Belldandy, apparently extending into the infinite and splitting the Moon, and the galaxy, in two. Runes ripple the surface of the barrier like waves in a pond, originating from Belldandy's raised and outstretched left hand, her right thrown back clutching her Staff. A low and marvelous Song, incredibly complex and melodious, echo in the void of space, vibrating along higher dimensional planes.

The Norn of the Past knows that not even Gungnir would be able to penetrate Bell's Aegis protective spell, possibly the strongest among all Divine Beings, excluding The Almighty's own; however she still releases another few experimental blasts that the shield deflects harmlessly either against the surface of Earth's Satellite or open space.

…

Peorth incredulously stares at the battle, raging over the far side of the Moon, on the Main display.

"Milady…", Chrono finally breaks the silence. "What are your orders?"

"Milady, do we have a target? Should we deploy Thor's Mjölnir?", Ere weakly suggests.

_Ponder very carefully your actions and __**initiative**__ in the immediate future… _Freyja's words echo in Peorth's mind.

Sighing, Peorth replies, "No. We are not to interfere, and we cannot choose a side. Everything must run its course."

After a brief pause, almost as an afterthought, Peorth continues.

"It is Fate, and what will happen, must happen. We can only brace ourselves for the aftermath."

On cue, Ere reports: "All carrier channels now online, Milady! Full secure communication links established. Bilrost replies as fully operational with multiple, immediately available Gate slots, open for transfer."

"Goddess First Class, Special Duty, Lind reporting, Milady. Commander Lind requests an Alpha priority Gate transfer slot for herself and her wing."

"… Pass order to prepare a full Valkyrie wing to support Lind, they will be needed once the silence falls over Luna AO. I want Sìgrun to command the second wing. Designate Goddess First Class, Special Duty, Unlimited, Lind as in charge of the mission. Upload full operative data to both Wing Commanders. Ere, schedule Bilrost with enough gate slots once both Lind and Sìgrun report back with a green light, and transfer to grid on my command."

"Yes, Milady."

"Yggdrasil, authorize Goddess First Class, Peorth."

_"Authorized."_

"Request clearance to limiter removal for Goddess First Class, Special Duty, Unlimited, Lind and Goddess First Class, Special Duty, Unlimited, Sìgrun in specific assignment and for the sole purpose of enforcing her assignment. AO planetary space, Midgard satellite Luna."

_"Acknowledged. Clearance granted, upon personnel deployment."_

"Chrono... Summon the High Council, the three Norns are returning to Asgard."

"Yes, Milady."

Suppressing a sob, Peorth resignedly lies back in her chair, forcing herself to witness the fratricide fight until the end.

…

"Please dearest sister. Please, grant me your blessing and power, and everything will be as before", Belldandy whispers. "It will bring back Keiichi, and I only mean well."

Her voice carries as if in space there was air. No other sound can be heard in the void.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Bell. _Trust me on this."_

Clenching her fists, Urd tries to find a solution to defeat Belldandy's Aegis spell; there's no way for her to penetrate the barrier without resorting to power levels that would destroy the planetary system.

Suddenly, the Norn of the Past's eyes become aware of a terrorized Skuld, hiding behind her hammer and cloaking her power signature as much as possible, floating next to Belldandy's barrier, trying her best to not be noticed and slowly recoiling away from Urd, sliding along the plane of the Aegis spell.

The Little Goddess didn't move fast enough, and found herself on the outward side of the shield!

Urd turns back to Belldandy, the corner of her lips curved in an evil smile.

"Y-you wouldn't…!", Bell murmurs.

In an instant, Urd vanishes to appear in front of Skuld. The little Goddess silently screams in fright, crossing her arms protectively in front of herself. Smirking, the dark Goddess envelopes the Norn of the Future in a shady sphere, freezing all her movements and sealing her in time and leaving the child totally defenseless.

Belldandy watches in utter horror her older sister's cold smirk as she raises both her fists high above her head, and angrily lowering them upon the sphere. The attack carries the equivalent energy of Earth's entire thermonuclear arsenal.

From Earth the silhouette of the Moon is blazingly lit by a corona of light and fire, illuminating the skies to daylight.

Months later, the scientific community on Earth will still debate the possibility that the event was caused by the impact of a totally undetected meteorite, possibly one eigth to one fifth in size of the Baptistina fragment that caused Tycho crater, with the surface of the far side of the moon.

As the immense power of the blast washes over Belldandy's barrier, Skuld's body, transformed in a blazing shooting star, descends towards the Moon's surface in a ball of fire, creating a two mile wide crater on impact and driven thousands of feet into hard basalt, to finally rest deep into the cold crust of the satellite.

"Skuld!", Belldandy cries, totally aghast at Urd's attack on her younger sister.

"You… Why did you hurt her! She was harmless and never threatened you!"

Assuming a neutral stance, and calmly crossing her arms, as if the battle just ended, Urd tilts her head to the side before replying.

"Easy. Because without her, you cannot turn back time."

Belldandy tries to sense Skuld's presence. Failing, she coldly stares at her older sister, not believing what just happened before her.

She manages to whisper, "Y-you sublimated our very s-sister so that I could not…?"

A cruel smirk twists Urd's beautiful features.

"Hey, it did seem a good idea at the moment."

Belldandy screams in blind rage, allowing the barrier to fall and shining like the Crown of Creation, concentrating all her power in a sublime instant and channeling it in an attack; if released, the attack would be more than enough to turn the Sun into a singularity.

Urd finally sees the opening she craved for; she explodes in a million sparks, each fragment accelerating outwards in a fireworks like display, disappearing and only leaving behind a dim afterimage of herself smirking in front of the enraged and confused Goddess.

Silently, dark particles coalesce instantly solidifying behind the Norn of the Present, and before the younger Goddess can react or release her strike, Urd grabs her sister's ponytail with her left hand, _yanking_ back hard the base of Belldandy's skull against her right index finger.

Completely surprised, Belldandy slowly relaxes under the finger's pressure, slightly shivering. Her arms fall to lie along her body, closing her eyes in defeat.

"I've… I've lost. Lost Keiichi, my family… all lost. I-"

_"Bang."_

The Norn of the Present's words are cut off, as a solid beam of light erupting from Urd's finger passes through her head.

The bronze Goddess releases her younger sister's ponytail, and Belldandy slowly collapses bonelessly crumpling upon herself, her white wings furling, then gently tumbles towards the surface of the Moon, captured by the satellite's gravity field, a shower of gradually fading feathers tracing her fall in slow motion.

Reappearing beneath Belldandy's form, Urd allows the limp body to fall softly in her arms, cradling her tenderly, and descending in the same crater formed by Skuld's impact. The Celestial being known as Urd, now ascended to the state of a Demon Goddess, kneels on the rapidly cooling dark grey glass surface, chanting softly a spell sealing the Norn of the Present's physical body in a stasis field - Her voice remarkably evoking a lullaby - and gently lies her younger sister to rest on the barren surface.

Standing again, her fists on her sides, Urd stares for many, long minutes at Belldandy's body and at the huge abyss at the bottom of which lies Skuld, then shakes her head slowly, her expression totally unreadable.

In the distance, Urd can sense a full Valkyrie wing rapidly approaching.

…

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><p><em>Lyrics are of Charles Trenet's "la Mer", a magnificent song written at the end of World War II.<em>

_Please have patience for the next chapters, as everything will fall into place. Thank you!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Keiichi's faith**

Rel1.2

By Pizzigri

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Aa! Megami-sama! (Oh! My goddess!) and all regular characters from this series are © copyright 1988-2012 Kosuke Fujishima and his publisher and distributors worldwide.

So here we go, Chapter 9. Sorry for the wait. Really have got little time to dedicate writing and KF is quite complex for the plot and all that stuff. Hope to post much sooner next chapter. Please let me know what you think.

_OC, functional to the story, are mine and, actually also © 1220 A.D. by Snorri Sturluson. No copyright infringement intended!_

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><p>…<p>

…

_"__Where is Belldandy?"_

…

Just outside the Elysium Gate, Peorth slowly licks her lips, knowing all along this moment would come. Thrud crosses glances with Peorth, and the Valkyrie silently steps away, to stand guard at a respectful distance.

Peorth studies the young God standing facing her, taller than she ever recalled Keiichi being, his chiseled and flawless body hardly concealed by the form fitting and almost ethereal navy blue Divine Uniform, proud but not imposing, waiting expectantly for an answer. Mixed and very human emotions flash behind those deep, stormy and imploring eyes. Trepidation, concern and hope. And, there's more than just hope… maybe trust?

_No._

_It's Faith._

The Rose Goddess cannot stop the stream of thoughts that her realization causes.

_Faith in Belldandy, faith that everything will be all right, that everything will be fixed. That somehow, they will be together again, that everything will fix itself… how can he believe so much? Amazing… Even as a God, ruled by the Ultimate Force, and hence awake to Awareness, he can Believe, and truly have Faith._

Her voice kind and measured, Peorth slowly replies, "Keiichi, please understand that I am not at liberty to fully answer your question. As a First Class Goddess, I cannot lie, however, I am still bound by Yggdrasil and the Ultimate Force in what I can tell you."

Unfazed and showing unsuspected strength, Keiichi immediately replies, his voice only slightly wavering, "It's fine. What _can_ you tell me?"

_Blunt and straight to the point,_ Peorth inwardly comments to herself.

"After your soul left your material body, Belldandy attempted to involve her sisters Skuld and Urd in a forbidden incantation. The Almighty… was upset by this behavior, and… chastised her. That is all I can tell you. You will also be unable to learn more than this, as any request or query you may place to Yggdrasil, any related database or directly to involved parties, will be blocked."

"Does… does this mean I cannot see her?"

Peorth nods, adding, "I'm sorry."

"Will I be able to see her in the future?"

"That is also a question I cannot answer. I'm truly sorry."

The young God bows his head, and replies, his voice a whisper.

"I… see. Can… can you at least tell me if she's all right?"

Peorth sadly shakes her head, her lips in a tight line.

"But… but it can't be worse than what happened with the Lord of Terror! That time, almost all of reality… why…"

Receiving only silence as a reply, Keiichi looks away. His eyes focus at a distant spot over the horizon thousands miles away, taking a deep breath. Feeling despair on a level that cannot be explained, not even on a Divine level, cold numbness seizes his soul.

After a moment of silence, and feeling his distress and despair, Peorth cups the young God's face with her hands, drawing it to her own, almost touching each other's noses.

"Keiichi, _Mon cher_, look at me, please. Don't stop hoping… have faith! I'm sorry I can't be of more comfort than this. Things… will change, with time."

All he can do is weakly nod to her.

Silence falls around him, as a whirlwind of what-if and whatnots oppresses his mind. ArcLight uneasily stirs within his spirit, unable to break free, fighting to emerge in time. Somehow, his negative thoughts start building up, escalating in a feedback closed loop just like a Larsen effect, suddenly exploding in white heat in his Divine mind.

"Keiichi…?"

Peorth grows extremely concerned, and panic overwhelms her as soon as she understands what's stirring in the depths of those eyes… she has just the time to teleport behind him, before he crumples in her arms, a marionette with its strings cut.

…

The shock of being reconnected with Yggdrasil almost goes unnoticed by the young God as Keiichi wakes completely aware. There's no solution of continuity between complete oblivion and full consciousness.

He finds himself lying, completely naked, in a huge Victorian bed covered with ethereal satin sheets, a canopy above him supported at each corner by a carved wooden column covered by thorny vines, beautifully coiled to blossom into blood red roses. The bed stands in a dusky room so large, only one of the walls, the nearest one to the side of the bed at his right, is visible. Immense windows on that wall let in faint and warm stenciled light, imprinted with the gentle shade of swaying giant Oak tree limbs, casting an almost oneiric ambience to his softly darkened surroundings. The crisp air is sweetly scented of fruits and heady musk. He has mere instants to take in all this, and raise slightly his head to look better, as his eyes then focus immediately on a very close, and very incensed, face.

Moaning, he allows himself to fall back against the pillow.

"Keiichi! I will NOT TOLERATE you do something like that ever again! _Est-ce que tu me comprends, hmm ?_"

Flushing, the young God replies contritely, "I'm sorry Peorth, I… felt overwhelmed, all this… it's too much to take in. And Belldandy…"

"You should not had allowed yourself to be prey to all those negative thoughts without the safeguards of an Yggdrasil Permalink. Because of your divine nature, it could - it _can_ be dangerous, if for any reason, you're offline. Where was your confidence, Keiichi? Your optimism?"

Keiichi sheepishly smiles for the first time since his rebirth. "Sorry. You're right. Being a God, having knowledge about the meaning of life, the Grand Scheme, and… things, and my memories of Nekomi and all that, well… I could not control it, it just increased all together, and then… it all went _bang_."

"Bang, he? So how you're feeling now?"

"Ah, I'm OK. I mean, it won't happen again. 'Sides, I can't let such a trivial thing as ascending to Godhood make me doubt my feelings and trust for Belldandy! She will pull through, I know it. Here, in the very core of my heart."

Peorth heartily laughs, almost in Keiichi's face.

_'__Such a trivial thing as _ascending to Godhood, _he says! Oh, Belldandy… if only you could see him now…_

"Good! So, get up and let's take you back to the Admin Complex. We need to re-register your Divine signature."

"Ah… but, I… under the sheets, and... well, ehm, where are we?"

"Oh, I know you're naked. Who do you think put you in that bed? And, since this is _Chez moi_… that is _my_ bed."

Never, in either life, Keiichi felt so embarrassed. To Peorth's amusement, the young god flushes so hot he actually worries he'll burn the satin sheets, as he sinks deeper in the bed, unable to utter another word.

…

Once again, Keiichi walks along the Third Bridge, this time towards the main Yggdrasil Complex, and with Peorth at his side. Gods and Goddesses of lesser class pay respect to the well known First Class Deity, and Keiichi remembers how deferent he was to the very same Goddess only a few hours (…minutes? Days? Months?) ago.

Half way across the Bridge, Keiichi slows down and stops, turning to Peorth.

"That was Urd, wasn't it?"

Feigning ignorance, Peorth replies, "_Excuse moi?_"

"Earlier today. Yesterday. No… whatever! I mean when I crossed this bridge before meeting you at the Elysium Gate. I… saw a Goddess with silvery white hair, that was incredibly powerful. More than anything I've ever believed existed - short of The Almighty, that is. Even now, she felt so different, I can't compare her to the Urd I remember. Her sigils were also different. But… She _was_ Urd, right?"

Sighing somewhat in defeat, knowing she will not be able to avoid Keiichi's insistence and questions, Peorth replies,

"Yes, you are right, that was Urd."

"I knew it! But, if she's around, maybe this means that Skuld and Bell-"

"Sorry to pop your bubble, Kei, but, no. Urd was involved in that forbidden incantation, but not in the way you think."

"But… And what about-"

"As for the power signature... Most First Class Deities can radiate that kind of power, myself included. It's considered rude and quite frowned upon, however; I think she was doing it just to keep everybody at a distance."

"She… wait, first class?"

"Yes, first class. Should have been obvious from her sigils. I'm not allowed to explain why, though."

"Yeah, anyway, thinking about it, I'm sure she did recognize me, but then she ignored me, walking right off, and just disappearing."

"You were Ondhollr at the time. I do not think that now you'll be able to ever see her anymore."

"I am _still_ Ondhollr!"

"You know what I mean."

"No! I AM Ondhollr. And Keiichi. And, I am… I…"

The young God closes his eyes and touches his forehead with his left hand, paling visibly. His Sigils quiver weakly.

"Ah, never mind. My head hurts. I'm not sure who or what I am, and these random timestreams all flowing at different speeds… Do you hear it too?"

"Hear what?"

"This… these constant chiming sounds in the background. I'm… its driving me nuts, making me feel dizzy…"

"Look, maybe it's better we visit a healer, Keiichi, something's not right. Vör will be able to see what's wrong and fix it. Your New Soul Signature Registration and Update interview at the Admin Complex can wait."

The confused young God just nods back, and they both disappear.

…

In the following days and weeks, at least sensed as such by Keiichi's still mostly human-filtered perception, carefully coached by Peorth, his Divine Mother Idunn, and occasionally, his Angel Arclight, Keiichi manages - surprisingly fast - to successfully synchronize with all Heaven's complex timestreams system, and cope with both his past existences, integrating his persona into Ondhollr.

Unsurprisingly, as Keiichi finds out just as fast, most of his questions go unanswered, and that, although connected to Yggdrasil, his access to the Knowledge and Databases is heavily limited.

Much more limited than any other Third class, Limited license Divinity, and more so than he can recall as Ondhollr, before his mortal memory, stored in Arclight's mind, was transferred back to him.

No questions related to his human family, relatives or friends on Earth, the Norns, or events related to them have an answer. None of the other Divine Beings he knew and befriended in his mortal years on Earth are reachable; Keiichi is especially saddened by the very curt, written reply received from Lind: 'sorry, more important matters need my attention'. Chrono never even replied.

Requesting a hearing to The Almighty proved to be a very puzzling experience. After filling thousands of immensely complex forms and documents, and over a hundred different secretaries, clerks, Office managers, supervisors, and PR executives… Keiichi gave up, without ever being even given a definite answer whether or not The Almighty would grant a hearing - _ever_.

Strangely enough, Keiichi could remember a very similar experience trying to get an interview with Nekomi Tech's university President. Apart from speeches and other events in which he saw the man from a distance of hundreds of feet, the President could have very well been a virtual entity…

However, Keiichi strengthens his faith, unshakably trusting that everything will eventually fix itself, throwing himself in his studies, making Ondhollr's dream to obtain a full Commercial, second category License and working in one of Heaven's Relief Offices, his own.

Keiichi finds himself at times in lengthy – and silent - conversations with his Angel Arclight, which has never emerged again from his soul since his Awakening in Elysium. _You are still not strong enough_, Arclight had once wordlessly explained, in reply to his silent pleas.

Arclight also steadfastly and stubbornly refused to ever disclose any information or memory pertaining to her previous Divine host, Sinthgunt.

Progressing rapidly through Earth and Human Academics, thanks to his experience as a mortal, Keiichi successfully attends his Final exams.

On the same Sacred Fields, surrounded by a gentle slope of grass, over which - what feels like Eons ago - Ondhollr obtained his first license, Keiichi stands proudly in front of a group of First Class Deities.

Receiving his Academic Mentors' congratulations and a folded parchment, a _díplōma_, that promptly disappears in his hand, Keiichi feels his Sigils, and his clothes, change subtly.

Unbeknownst to Keiichi, many other Deities are stealthily attending the ceremony at a distance, their hearts soaring with immense pride at the humble mortal turned God's achievements.

A Celestial Being with white as snow long hair and bronze skin, is moved to the point of spilling tears.

Proudly holding a full Second class, Commercial Limited license and now wearing a pristine Second Category uniform, Keiichi turns to embrace his Divine mother Idunn and then Peorth, a bright smile on his face, and with his hazel eyes wet from happiness.

His dream at long last is fulfilled.

Shortly, Keiichi will be assigned a job at the Earth Assistance Hotline. Incidentally, Peorth used to have an executive position at the EAH, so the young God cannot help smiling at the fact that maybe the Rose Goddess pulled some strings... and the job comes with a bonus. He will be able to return to Earth!

…

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><p>Leaving behind the scorched and vitrified surface of the Moon, barely avoiding Lind and her whole Valkyrie wing, Urd rapidly approaches Niflheim's dimensional realm unhindered by any Demonic defense, plowing through as there were no Mystical shields, ramparts, fortifications or massive stone walls… penetrating deep into the heart of Hell, plunging in as an unstoppable raging fireball of wrath and power.<p>

The Demon Goddess appears suddenly in front of the Gates in a great explosion of dark energy, a massive spiderweb of fractures radiating in the black basalt pavement until eyes can see from the shallow crater in which Urd now stands, a halo of runes rapidly orbiting her forms, and the echo of her thunderous manifestation slowly fading in the distance.

The dusky red clouds in the gloomy sky reverberate from the lightnings caused by her harsh passage through the atmosphere.

Her fists glowing with black fire, she only needs to raise her eyes towards the frightened Demons guarding the mighty Doors to make them flee in utter terror.

Mere instants later, Urd resolutely walks along the vast corridor that leads into Hell's Throne Hall, lined with pillars at each side, illuminated by wall mounted torches, her feet leaving fiery burning footsteps into the dark granite, reality warping around her body, as cracks and fissures appear on the walls and pavement under the immense pressure of her Power. No one dare stop her.

Finally, she stands in front of the obsidian doors, behind which she can feel an immensely powerful and evil presence.

Snapping her fingers, the Throne Room doors are torn away as if they were made of paper.

"Honeybun! You've come home to visit Mommy!"

A beautiful, voluptuous and incredibly sexy woman, with the same bronze skin and pure white hair, clad in a skin tight black leather dress leaving most of her skin exposed, stands from the imposing throne and opens her arms to welcome the Demon Goddess, while whoever is capable of teleporting out of the huge hall does so, and those who can't, try to flee in complete, abject terror.

Urd studies the apparently cheerful and friendly Queen of the Demons, carefully evaluating potential threats and possible strategies. Hild seems to be completely relaxed and sincere, wearing all her limiters under the guise of jewelry and precious trimming, purring and moving slowly and seductively like a cat. Reason to be doubly wary and suspicious.

"Hello, Mother. I suppose that you're feeling awfully proud of yourself, aren't you."

"I'm always proud of my magnificent daughter."

"Yeah, sure. I'm talking about your plan. A masterful and totally successful plan, I got to admit." Small wisps of black flame dance over the Demon Goddess skin. Sparks silently arches at her fingertips. Every muscle in her material body is tense, ready to explode into motion.

"Baby… I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Do not insult my intelligence, Hild! You…"

Urd momentarily squeezes her eyes, bringing her left hand up to the bridge of her nose, in a concentration gesture, before continuing in a much calmer and deliberate tone.

"When the Power awakened in me, for a moment I Saw."

The Demon Goddess briefly chuckles, her eyes blazing. "For a brief moment, I had access to my full powers as Norn of the Past, to Know All That's Been. You've manipulated Vali. Playing on the bastard's animosity, hatred and regret, presenting him the perfect occasion, leaving my Doublet file open and unencrypted. Giving him a perfect Hobson choice, and gently nudging things in the right direction… setting events in motion way before Bell even received Keiichi's phone call!"

Hild slowly licks her teeth. The intense and dazzling blood red tongue's a stark, dramatic contrast, against her incredibly white teeth, lingering in her slightly parted crimson lips, sensually caressing one of her fangs. Her eyes follow her daughter as she moves slowly in an arc, keeping a calculated distance.

"So, you knew. Knew what would happen… Knew that it would be Keiichi to make the call to Belldandy. That both he and Bell would end up living in the shrine. That I would join them!"

Shouting the last words, Urd stops circling Hild, her eyes fearlessly locked with the Great Demon Queen's.

Gently shaking her head, Hild sits again on her throne, slowly and languidly crossing her legs, the unstretchable black leather dress dangerously rising over the naked skin of her thighs.

"You carefully orchestrated all these events, to lure me on the mortal plane, defying Father's ruling, to join my sister! Where it was easy for you to approach me!"

"Of course I'd want to approach you! You're my blood! And may I remind you, who invited me on the mortal plane in the first place?"

"I'm not finished, Hild."

Pouting cutely, the beautiful Demon Queen crosses her arms underneath her considerable… assets, turning her violet eyes to the side and huffing.

"You calculated everything… I can see it clearly, now. How Hagall was really doing your bidding, manipulating us, playing a complicated game of chess… how you used my love for my sisters against me, to force me into a demonic awakening in Niflheim. And, failing that, resorting to plan B!"

Balling her fists, Urd menacingly takes a couple of steps towards the Throne. The Obsidian floor cracks under the pressure of her Power.

"Ruthlessly causing the cold blood Ultimate Sublimation of an innocent, young Goddess! Murdering Keiichi! Then, cruelly pushing Belldandy into a blind corner, stripping her of every hope,

hijacking Keiichi's soul and routing him to be irrevocably fragmented and diluted… until she lost it! Forcing my sisters, blood of my blood, against…"

"They're not my daughters-"

"THEY'RE MY FAMILY!"

Hild secretly smiles to herself, watching Urd's skin suddenly darkening, apparently absorbing all ambient light. Swirls of microscopic and astoundingly complex runes rush and flow over her skin, giving the impression of a dark liquid streaming over her body. For a moment, her sigil turned a much warmer violet.

"You deceived me. You've tricked me into my own, personal Hobson choice. Either allow Belldandy and Skuld to perform their spell, and be damned for eternity… or stop them, and be damned for eternity. All, for this!"

Urd slowly raises her right hand and places her finger over the violet five pointed star sigil on her forehead.

"I believe that you have betrayed me, not one, now, but twice. Whatever concern, warmth or even affection I may have felt for you - _Daimakaicho Hild_ – is forever lost."

Urd takes another step towards the Throne, radiating more power than a Supernova. If it was not for Hild's power balancing the Demon Goddess' might, most of Niflheim would be reduced to dust by now.

Casually waving her left hand and apparently quite bored, Hild replies, "Your point?"

"Just tell me… was it worth it?"

She was going to reply with a sassy and demeaning comment, intended to provoke and incense Urd. She was going to tease, mock and scorn her daughter, laughing and enjoying the burning despair and anguish fueling Urd's wrath, in lustful anticipation of the delicious berserk rage that was guaranteed to follow.

That was guaranteed to turn her daughter into a full Demon.

Instead, the malicious smile blossoming on her lips wanes as soon as it forms, the pupils in her beautiful violet eyes seem to widen suddenly, and the mirth and laughter simply die in her throat, as a realization hits her.

_As a Demon, she will never love me._

Totally unbidden, and for the second time since Urd's birth, something shines brightly in the tainted blackness of her being. A warmth, never before experienced in its intensity, expands and fills her soul; her darkness still blacker than absolute absence of light, but…

The great Queen rises from her throne, her bearing instantly transformed into the noble demeanor of one of the Multiverse's most powerful sentient beings, second only to the Almighty and the Ultimate Force, in all her True Glory, radiating an aura of absolute Dominance and utter Power, so much so that Urd cannot help but be overwhelmed and humbled.

For a moment, she actually thought that she could confront Hild almost as an equal.

_What a fool._

Standing proud, Hild simply wills herself to be in front of her daughter, blinded and almost forced on her knees by the Daimakaicho's Power and Radiance.

"Urd, my Baby. There's one thing that you must never forget or doubt, about me. That is, I love you, more than anything; and, because of this, for you, I would do anything. Now, look at me, honey. You overlooked a very important fact, just before slugging it with your sisters. You even came dangerously near the truth… don't you want to ask me the question?"

"W-what?"

Her features softened, and smiling gently, Hild kneels in front of Urd, tenderly lifting her jaw to make eye contact, a light giggle escaping her lips.

"Silly girl. Don't you want to know who asked me to do all this, implying that I would have back my baby girl, in return?"

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><p>Please! Review!<p> 


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